Ophthalmology

Ophthalmologist: Total Eye Care

Ophthalmologists are physicians - doctors of medicine (MDs) or doctors of osteopathy (DOs). MDs and DOs complete four or more years of college premedical education, four years of medical school, and one year of internship to get their doctorate degrees.

After they become licensed physicians, they undergo a residency of three or more years. This consists of medical and surgical specialty training specifically in eye care.

Ophthalmologists provide complete eye care services. These include:

• Vision services, including eye exams
• Medical eye care - for glaucoma, iritis, chemical burns, orbital cellulites, etc.
• Surgical eye care - for trauma, crossed eyes, cataracts, glaucoma, tumors, etc.
• Diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions related to other diseases like diabetes ( diabetic retinopathy), arthritis (iritis), brain conditions ( multiple sclerosis/optic neuritis), prematurity (retinopathy of prematurity) and syndromes
• Eye disease and injury preventive services
• Plastic surgery - some ophthalmologists offer this service for drooping eyelids or skin tumors, or for smoothing wrinkles and improving skin tone around the eyes

definitions taken from www.webMD.com