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Evaluating an Opthalmologist

Question:

Tony, You’re asking the impossible in one way and a totally reasonable one in another. The most important thing is trust, but close on that it would be good to know of the doctor’s standing in terms of his specialty. Perhaps it would be good to start with a hospital which has a specialised glaucoma unit or department, then look for a doctor who has a known interest in glaucoma in young people (you may get a clue from any research work he/she has published). Lastly, there is a balance to be struck between experience and age – generally speaking, the older the ophthalmologist, the greater the experience, however, at a recent meeting I attended, when talking informally to a group of doctors, the consensus was that, should they require an eye operation, they would look for a younger surgeon rather than an older one. I’m not saying that the opinion was in any way scientific, simply that it was offered. The other thing to think about is that being in the USA the rules on recommendation there are different to here in the UK and I am aware that some doctors recommend colleagues who they think are suitable. Try glauc…@egroups.com as well as this list, and of course there will be many individual patients who will be able to recommend from their own experience. Nevertheless, in the final analysis, it is you who must decide and its your eye that will have the surgery. Good luck in your quest. With kind regards — David Wright MSAE Chief Executive, International Glaucoma Association IGA Web Site – http://www.iga.org.uk/home.htm While we are pleased to offer the above information, it is not possible for the International Glaucoma Association to advise on an individual patient’s eye condition or treatment as this has to be the role of their own doctor or eye specialist who knows the full details of their particular case. Any comments above should therefore viewed as general observations. ———- In article <sADn4.8912$563.402…@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>, "Tony" – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -<please.d…@spam.me> wrote: > Hi.  I don’t know if anyone has any helpful ideas on this, but I > don’t know anybody who has glaucoma (except for me!) so I figure > it’s worth a shot asking here… > Thanks for the thoughts on my question about surgery for my > open-angle glaucoma.  One thing that came through loud and clear was > a need for trust both in your opthalmologist’s capabilities and in > his or her track record in treating your specific kind of problem. > When I was diagnosed with glaucoma, I was 15.  For many years, I > simply kept going to the same doctor I started seeing way back then. > When it came time for the third trabeculectomy in the left eye, he > determined that he was not skilled enough to do that job reliably > and he sent me to a glaucoma specialist.  This doctor was able to do > the third trabeculectomy and it is still "working" after several > years, so my original doctor seemed to have sent me to a good > fellow. > Since I will soon have to make important decisions about my only > "good" eye, I want to be sure I have all the information possible. > I will certainly get a second opinion on options before consenting > to cutting into my right eye. > The trouble is, I don’t have a clue where to begin finding a good > opthalmologist (preferably one who specializes in treating my > problem) who is unaffiliated with either of the two I’ve seen > before.  I have a physician I trust…should I ask him for a > referral?   Is there a resource for recommending people?  Perhaps a > glaucoma group that knows who’s good and who isn’t?   I live in the > Washington DC area, if that is any help. > Additionally, is there any way of double-checking the "quality" (a > very subjective term, I realize) of my current doctor?  As I said, > he was able to do the procedure that my original doctor could > not….but now that we’re talking about cutting into my only good > eye, the stakes are far higher than they ever have been before.  It > would be nice to find out that my current doctor is > highly-regarded…and it would be helpful to know if he were not!! > Thanks for any thoughts. > –Tony > (if you need to mail me directly, please send it to  eq_nerren > at-sign hotmail.com  (without the spaces and changing the at-sign to > a real one!)…sorry…it’s all those spammers that make address > obfuscation necessary!)

Response:

Hi, I too need a second opinion on my proposed trabeculectomy (my first and I have normal pressure glaucoma).  I have heard that Harry Quigley at Johns Hopkins is one of the foremost glaucoma specialists in the country.  I plan to get an opinion from him.  You might ask other ophthalmologists about him–he seems to be revered.  Hope this info is helpful. (BTW he even accepts my medical plan!) CL – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Tony wrote: > Hi.  I don’t know if anyone has any helpful ideas on this, but I > don’t know anybody who has glaucoma (except for me!) so I figure > it’s worth a shot asking here… > Thanks for the thoughts on my question about surgery for my > open-angle glaucoma.  One thing that came through loud and clear was > a need for trust both in your opthalmologist’s capabilities and in > his or her track record in treating your specific kind of problem. > When I was diagnosed with glaucoma, I was 15.  For many years, I > simply kept going to the same doctor I started seeing way back then. > When it came time for the third trabeculectomy in the left eye, he > determined that he was not skilled enough to do that job reliably > and he sent me to a glaucoma specialist.  This doctor was able to do > the third trabeculectomy and it is still "working" after several > years, so my original doctor seemed to have sent me to a good > fellow. > Since I will soon have to make important decisions about my only > "good" eye, I want to be sure I have all the information possible. > I will certainly get a second opinion on options before consenting > to cutting into my right eye. > The trouble is, I don’t have a clue where to begin finding a good > opthalmologist (preferably one who specializes in treating my > problem) who is unaffiliated with either of the two I’ve seen > before.  I have a physician I trust…should I ask him for a > referral?   Is there a resource for recommending people?  Perhaps a > glaucoma group that knows who’s good and who isn’t?   I live in the > Washington DC area, if that is any help. > Additionally, is there any way of double-checking the "quality" (a > very subjective term, I realize) of my current doctor?  As I said, > he was able to do the procedure that my original doctor could > not….but now that we’re talking about cutting into my only good > eye, the stakes are far higher than they ever have been before.  It > would be nice to find out that my current doctor is > highly-regarded…and it would be helpful to know if he were not!! > Thanks for any thoughts. > –Tony > (if you need to mail me directly, please send it to  eq_nerren > at-sign hotmail.com  (without the spaces and changing the at-sign to > a real one!)…sorry…it’s all those spammers that make address > obfuscation necessary!)

Response:

Hi.  I don’t know if anyone has any helpful ideas on this, but I don’t know anybody who has glaucoma (except for me!) so I figure it’s worth a shot asking here… Thanks for the thoughts on my question about surgery for my open-angle glaucoma.  One thing that came through loud and clear was a need for trust both in your opthalmologist’s capabilities and in his or her track record in treating your specific kind of problem. When I was diagnosed with glaucoma, I was 15.  For many years, I simply kept going to the same doctor I started seeing way back then. When it came time for the third trabeculectomy in the left eye, he determined that he was not skilled enough to do that job reliably and he sent me to a glaucoma specialist.  This doctor was able to do the third trabeculectomy and it is still "working" after several years, so my original doctor seemed to have sent me to a good fellow. Since I will soon have to make important decisions about my only "good" eye, I want to be sure I have all the information possible. I will certainly get a second opinion on options before consenting to cutting into my right eye. The trouble is, I don’t have a clue where to begin finding a good opthalmologist (preferably one who specializes in treating my problem) who is unaffiliated with either of the two I’ve seen before.  I have a physician I trust…should I ask him for a referral?   Is there a resource for recommending people?  Perhaps a glaucoma group that knows who’s good and who isn’t?   I live in the Washington DC area, if that is any help. Additionally, is there any way of double-checking the "quality" (a very subjective term, I realize) of my current doctor?  As I said, he was able to do the procedure that my original doctor could not….but now that we’re talking about cutting into my only good eye, the stakes are far higher than they ever have been before.  It would be nice to find out that my current doctor is highly-regarded…and it would be helpful to know if he were not!! Thanks for any thoughts. –Tony (if you need to mail me directly, please send it to  eq_nerren at-sign hotmail.com  (without the spaces and changing the at-sign to a real one!)…sorry…it’s all those spammers that make address obfuscation necessary!)

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