Your first visit will be a long one and may include some photographic procedures. Your initial appointment can last from forty-five minutes to up to two hours. Follow-up visits generally take less time. Please allow enough time for each visit.
Please remember it is necessary to dilate your pupils to have a retinal evaluation, therefore we prefer that you have someone who can transport you after the appointment. You also will need to have dark sunglasses to protect your eyes against the bright sunlight for your return trip home.
Our goals are to precisely define the nature of your eye problem and to initiate treatment promptly, whether it be medical or surgical. In addition to an eye examination, special testing may be required to determine your diagnosis and prognosis. The tests may be arranged either before your examination (based on information received from your referring doctor) or after your examination. We have found it beneficial for most patients to complete their examination and testing on a single day. For some, it may be necessary to return on another day for completion of the evaluation. In all cases we attempt to make arrangements as convenient as possible.
Although a final opinion may not be possible until all test results are analyzed, your physician will discuss the available findings with you as soon as they are available to him. Later, following careful study, reports will be forwarded to your referring physician.
This web site has been prepared to provide medical and financial information to assist you during your initial examination in our office as well as while you are under our care. Our physicians and staff will strive to make your visit productive and pleasant. Please let us know if you need any special assistance.
If you do not speak English, we suggest you travel with a companion who can act as a translator.
Medical Interview and Preliminary Procedures
Before being interviewed by a nurse or ophthalmic technician you will be asked to complete a form outlining your medical and ocular history. You will be questioned regarding your visual symptoms and the treatments, medical or surgical, you have received. We are also interested in your general health, including any operations or medical treatments both past and present. Answers to the following two questions will be particularly important. Does your family have a history of eye or general medical disorders? Do you have any allergies, especially to medications?
Please bring your glasses and/or contact lenses with you so that your vision can be measured with them in place. After receiving anesthetic drops, the pressure within your eyes will be measured. This is a painless test for glaucoma. A second set of drops will be given to dilate (widen) your pupils. Dilation is necessary for a complete examination of the inside of your eyes. Your pupils will require up to 30 minutes to dilate.
Since your pupils may remain dilated for a full day after your visit, we recommend that you bring sunglasses to reduce your sensitivity to light. Your ability to read will be temporarily decreased. Although distance vision is usually undisturbed, it is advised to have someone else drive you home.
Your Eye Examination
When you meet your physician, he will review with you all the medical information in your record, and may ask you to clarify certain points about your medical history. You will be asked to lie back for your examination and the room lights will be dimmed. An instrument called an indirect ophthalmoscope will be used to examine the back of your eyes. The physician’s findings are sometimes summarized in a sketch drawn during your examination.
After your physician has examined your eyes, he will discuss the findings with you. In some cases, further testing may be necessary to clarify your diagnosis and determine what treatment is needed.