Eye Surgery: The More You Know

The prospect of surgery can be troubling. Face it; you’re relying on someone you do not know to perform a delicate medical procedure on an equally delicate part of your body—your eyes. You have questions. Will I see better? Is the operation safe? How experienced is the doctor performing it? You are concerned, and you should be. Surgery should not be taken lightly. It helps to know what goes on, the expertise of the people doing the surgeries, and how safe they are.

How well-trained are eye surgeons?

Eye or ophthalmic surgeons are trained at the highest levels. All eye surgeons are ophthalmologists. They must have a college degree, four years of medical school, a one-year internship, and at least three years of ophthalmology residency in eye surgery, after which they must pass a stringent licensing examination.

Let’s Amplify

In residency, doctors learn and perfect their clinical knowledge and clinical skills. Each specialty requires a certain length of time a graduated medical doctor must put into perfecting their clinical knowledge and skills. After completing a residency program, the physician can begin working in their field. In this case, eye surgery.
Within the field of Ophthalmic surgery, there are several sub-specialties.

• Pediatric
• Glaucoma
• Neuro-ophthalmology
• Retina/uveitis
• Anterior segment/cornea
• Oculoplastic/orbit
• Ocular oncology

Types of Eye Surgery

• Blepharoplasty repairs droopy eyelids. The doctor makes a small incision, removes skin and muscle, and repositions fat.
• Cataract surgery removes a clouded lens and implants a clear artificial lens in its place.
• Corneal transplant/Endothelial keratoplasty. The donor cornea, cut to fit, is placed in the opening. The surgeon then uses stitches (sutures) to affix the new cornea in place.
• Glaucoma surgeries. The surgeon removes a circular piece of the damaged cornea from the center of the eye and replaces it with a donated cornea.
• LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis). The most popular surgery used to redirect light to the retina and correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
• Retina repair. One method of retinal detachment repair is pneumatic retinopexy. In this procedure, a gas bubble is injected into the eye. The bubble presses against the detached retina and pushes it back into place. A laser or cryotherapy is then used to reattach the retina in place.
• Eye muscle surgery is used to fix children’s “lazy eyes.” It involves making a small incision in the clear covering of the white of the eye through which the muscle is reattached.

Get Your Sight Right, New York

Dr. Craig Beyer comes to the New York area as one of the first 10 doctors in the country authorized to perform LASIK surgery by the FDA. He has personally performed over 15,000 surgeries. His experience in the range of corrective surgeries and advanced eye care has been noted by top Ophthalmology Publications nationwide.
If you live in New York or the surrounding areas and need to discuss eye surgery options, call 877-274-1797 to schedule a free consultation.