To help you prepare for your upcoming visit, we hope you will find the following information helpful. Please feel free to call in advance with any questions.

1. We recommend that you bring one person to stay with you during your visit at our office. Your companion will be a valuable participant in our discussion of your eye problem. Also, because your eyes will be dilated, your ability to see clearly, drive or work may be impaired.
2. Please be prepared to spend up to three hours with us. Not only will we do a full history and eye examination, but dilation of the pupils, and special diagnostic testing, such as retinal photography, fluorescein angiography, and ultrasonography all require time. We will also explain and discuss your condition and our findings with you. If your condition requires immediate treatment, it may be necessary to stay the entire day or possibly even an extra day.
3. Because of the nature of retinal diseases and the fact that these conditions must sometimes be dealt with on an urgent basis, on any given day there may be a number of patients who were not on our schedule but had to be seen because we always want to be available to patients with such problems. Therefore, you may wish to call our office just before your appointment to confirm we are on schedule.
4. Please fill out (type or print) the registration and medical history forms (see below--these can be downloaded), and bring them with you to our office. It will expedite your visit if you can fill these out completely prior to your arrival.
5. Please bring with you any prescription glasses you may wear or a copy of your eyeglass prescription. We also suggest you bring sunglasses, as your pupils will be dilated and your eyes will be sensitive to light when you leave. Also, please bring a list of your current medications and a list of the names and addresses of the physicians you currently see. Please make a special effort to list any medications, foods, or other substances to which you've had an allergic reaction.
6. If you have diabetes, you may want to bring along something to eat. There are restaurants nearby, also.
7. We know that there will be a lot of questions that you will want to ask. It is a good idea to write them down so that you can be sure to ask everything you want to know. Feel free to bring a tape recorder to tape our discussion. This may be helpful for you to review the details of our findings and possible treatment after you have left our office.