ethical

[cac117]

I was born blind in my left eye and now I have a cataract in my good eye. I saw an opthamologist  listed on my insurance plan. I know nothing of his reputation. On the first visit he wanted to work on my blind eye first. I will never see out of that eye. I am 56 and in good health and have worn glasses all my life. I want the best care possible because i only have one eye that can't pass the vision requirement for a road test and i would like it fixed and get back to work. What he suggested does not sound ethical. I asked him if i had a cataract in the bad eye and he said "they come in pairs" the optometrist i saw never mentioned anything wrong with my left. eye.  Comments? ..

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

--

[cac117]

Thank you so much. This is a wonderful website.  I'm sure I will have more questions as the months roll on. cac117

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

It's not as bad as it sounds.  

1. Sometimes a cataract in a totally blind eye has to be removed because it "gets too ripe" (we call it a hypermature lens) and causes very high pressure, very much irritation and SEVERE pain. So if the ophthalmologist sees this is likely to happen say over the coming year removing the cataract to prevent the pain is ethical and good medical care.

2. Often when you do surgery on the first eye you learn something that will make the surgery on the second eye (your good eye) safer and easier. For instance  how your eye reacts to anesthesia, surgery, sutures, medication, and post operative healing. What you learn on the first eye can make surgery on the second eye safer.

This is something I've done in the past.

JCH MD