Ophthalmologists

Ophthalmologists are medical and osteopathic doctors who provide comprehensive eye care, including medical, surgical and optical care. In the US, this requires a minimum of four years of undergraduate education in science and humanities, graduation from an accredited four year medical school, one-year internship in general medicine (usually at a hospital), and three years of residency at an accredited teaching program. During that residency, ophthalmologists receive intensive training in all aspects of eye care, including prevention, diagnosis, management and medical and surgical treatment of ocular diseases and disorders.  Following this, many ophthalmologists complete one or two additional years of training in a fellowship program to concentrate in a particular aspect of eye medicine, to become an eye specialist. These years are spent in specialized training in the art and science ophthalmology – a specialized discipline of caring for the eyes and the visual system based on medical principles.

Ophthalmologists undergo extensive and intensive medical and surgical exams to qualify.  Entrance criteria to a training program is highly competitive. Some ophthalmologists receive additional advanced training (fellowship) in specific areas of ophthalmology, such as retina, cornea, glaucoma, laser vision correction, pediatric ophthalmology, uveitis, pathology, or neuro-ophthalmology.In addition, yearly Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a mandatory requirement that must be met for the renewal of practicing ophthalmology certificates.

Comprehensive medical training and experience permit and foster recognition of the spectrum of normal physical variation, understanding of normal physiologic and pathophysiologic reactions (including cause/effect relationships), knowledge of the boundaries of medical science, judgment to apply accumulated wisdom appropriately, and the humanity to attend with honesty and empathy.

At East Valley Ophthalmology, our physicians are board certified.

Board certification means that your ophthalmologist has taken and passed rigorous examinations that cover all aspects of medical and surgical eye care. These examinations are completely voluntary. An ophthalmologist is not required by law to be “board-certified” for the practice of medicine. The American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) is the main certifying body for ophthalmologists in the United States.

Medical conditions affecting the eye require a comprehensive understanding of the entire body. Systemic diseases are often revealed by the eye, whose management and course may affect the eye, and conversely, are potentially affected by management of eye disease. They are all connected.

For example: hypertension and diabetes mellitus. These conditions may be observed in the eye, and the eye may be affected by their treatment. Specifically, hypertensive retinal vascular changes require monitoring and appropriate and timely diagnostic evaluations, and laser treatments and other surgical intervention may be required to preserve sight in those suffering from diabetes mellitus.

Glaucoma management illustrates the systemic effects of treatment of ocular disease. Various medications are used in the treatment of glaucoma including beta-blocking agents; carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, and strong miotics (echothiophate). Among the many systemic effects of these agents are respiratory depression, cardiac failure, impotence, blood electrolyte imbalance, profound anemia, kidney stones, psychic and emotional changes, severe fatigue, risks with anesthesia and death.

The spectrum of ophthalmologic disease includes such complex medical conditions as uveitis, glaucoma, degenerative retinal disease, infectious disease, ocular and adnexal tumors, neuro-ophthalmic syndromes including strabismus, central nervous system tumors and vascular disease (stroke), congenital anomalies and disorders, and genetic syndromes.

While others may observe signs of complicated medical ophthalmic disease, only the qualified ophthalmologist will comprehensively evaluate, promptly diagnose and appropriately manage these conditions. Surgical ophthalmic conditions require a unique competence. Ophthalmic surgical procedures alter, remove, replace, and/or reshape ocular and adnexal tissue for beneficial therapeutic effect by the use of instruments and applied physical forces.

Through education and experience, qualified ophthalmologists apply to surgical endeavors a comprehensive understanding of ophthalmic and systemic disease, and trauma. The ophthalmologist applies this knowledge through a comprehensive eye examination, appropriate diagnostic testing and interpretation. Then, with applied surgical judgment (including avoidance of unnecessary procedures and complications), the ophthalmologist subsumes understanding of the natural history of disease, potential risks, and treatment options.

Further, the ophthalmologist possesses highly trained surgical skill and understands the evolution of the healing process. He/she also diagnoses, monitors and manages complications in an appropriate and timely manner. The care a patient gets with an ophthalmologist includes the preoperative and postoperative periods – those times when the patient is at risk from all aspects of the procedure. This sets a standard for special competence in ophthalmic surgery.