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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
Donald C. Bartnick, CMPE, CEO
Listening To Your Eyes
Maryland Eye Associates
. http://marylandeyeassociates.com

Listening To Your Eyes

“The practice of ophthalmology is interesting, exciting, challenging, rewarding, and sometimes unusual.” All of the ophthalmologists in Maryland Eye Associates would agree with that, but I'm not so sure that most of our patients, or most of the general public are aware of why that would be true. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors with additional, specialized training in surgical and non-surgical treatment of the eye and eye diseases. With ophthalmologists seeing a variety of patients daily in the office, they have many opportunities to see patients with all types of medical issues. Ophthalmologists are frequently the first to diagnose, not only eye diseases, but systemic problems such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, high cholesterol; even brain tumors.

Just two weeks ago, the lead technologist assisted one of our doctors in an unusual diagnostic event. The patient presented with a red, painful right eye for approximately three weeks. His vision was also decreased, and his eye looked slightly swollen. He had been followed by a local optometrist, and treated topically with drops for possible conjunctivitis. The technologist collected and recorded current and historic health data and performed some preliminary examination tests for the doctor to reference as he met with the patient. After reviewing the data collected by the technologist and asking some targeted questions, the ophthalmologist examined the patient's eye with a slit lamp (a specialized microscope for examining eyes) for a long time.

A few minutes later the doctor asked for a stethoscope. This is not an unusual occurrence; ophthalmologists often listen to the carotid artery in a patient's neck to listen for blood flow abnormalities such as bruit. A bruit is a blowing sound in any large artery, when blood flow is turbulent, usually accompanied by, or associated with, blood vessel abnormalities or narrowing. The doctor, however, put the stethoscope to the patient's eye. Following this part of the exam, the doctor informed the patient that he needed to have an MRI fairly soon. The doctor was listening for a bruit and, due to the red eye, the doctor suspected a cavernous sinus fistula. This is a serious condition where there is an abnormal connection between an artery and the cavernous sinus.

This type of diagnosis does not present frequently, but an astute ophthalmologist can collect a great deal of diagnostic data. The data collected is used by the ophthalmologist to establish a diagnosis or set of diagnoses to be considered. Sometimes additional testing is required to reach a conclusion and develop a treatment plan, as was the case with the patient just described.

Ophthalmologists see the health condition of the whole person as they examine the eyes. While they have pursued specialized education and training, they are medical doctors with the knowledge necessary to diagnose more than just problems with the eye. Everyone should have regular eye examinations. The frequency of the exams depends on your individual situation. Ask your eye doctor.

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