Ophthalmologist or Optometrist?
An optometrist is not a medical doctor. To gain certification as an optometrist requires a degree in optometry school, after four years of college. The certification allows an optometrist to provide specific services, including eye exams, vision tests, prescribing corrective lenses, and the ability to detect some eye abnormalities. While these are valuable and needed services, an ophthalmologist offers a far wider range of skills in diagnosis and treatment.
Why an Ophthalmologist?
To become a board-certified ophthalmologist requires achieving a medical degree, followed by a minimum of three more years as a resident in ophthalmology. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in vision care and eye surgery, and can perform many more treatments than an optometrist, including:
- Thorough eye exams
- Diagnosis for eye conditions and diseases
- Treat eye diseases
- Perform eye surgery
- Prescribe eye medications
- Laser vision correction
- Cataract surgery
- Treat Diabetic retinopathy
- Glaucoma treatment
- Treat macular degeneration
- Treat dry eye
Should I See an Ophthalmologist?
If you have concerns about your vision, it is important that you see an ophthalmologist. The extensive knowledge and skills of an ophthalmologist can be an important part of keeping your eyes healthy and your vision as sharp as possible throughout your life. The early detection and treatment for a developing eye condition or disease may be critical to your long-term eye health.
Your Vision: Protecting Your Eyes for the Long Term Makes Sense.
At Lotus Vision, we watch over our patients, performing yearly or more frequent eye exams to monitor the progress of treatment, or to identify any developing conditions or diseases that may require treatment. We value our vision as one of the most important of all senses. Our range of skills and knowledge can help you protect your eyes, treat conditions, perform surgery for vision or astigmatism correction, restore clear vision if you have developed cataracts, and monitor your eye pressure.
Your Vision and Your Life.
Clear, sharp vision may be taken for granted – until something happens. At Lotus Vision, we are committed to helping people in the Atlanta area to care for their eyes, keep them healthy, and treat any problem that arises, including laser vision correction. As a quality of life issue, we take our duty to our patients very seriously; we provide the most advanced technology, the latest new developments in treatment, and we genuinely care about our patients. We invite you to find out more about Lotus Vision and visit with us at our state-of-the-art Alpharetta eye clinic.
