Request Appointment
(804) 828-9315Ophthalmology
VCU Health Ophthalmology provides eye care services in both ambulatory and in-patient settings. Our ophthalmology providers serve patients of all ages. Services range from general eye exams to the treatment of complex vision disorders.
Our department is among the first in the country to offer implantable telescope technology — the surgery involves implantation of a miniature telescope for patients with advanced irreversible age-related macular degeneration to improve their distance vision. We are a major training ground for Virginia's future ophthalmologists and are committed to attracting excellent residents and recruiting outstanding faculty to provide resident training and patient care.
Your Visit to VCU Health Ophthalmology
In order to maximize your experience, your visit is divided into different stages so that each team member can specialize and improve the clinic's efficiency.
After checking-in with the front desk, you will be called by a technician to escort you to a room and start your eye exam. Technicians check your vision and put eye drops in your eyes to measure eye pressure and dilate your eyes. If you need additional testing, a medical photographer will call you to take photos while you wait for the dilating drops to work.
You may encounter a resident along the way, which is a doctor enrolled in our extensive training program. This doctor will examine you with a microscope and come up with a diagnosis and plan. He or she discusses your case with the attending physician (your doctor), who confirms and explains the treatment plan with you.
After you complete your discussion with the team of doctors, you will check-out with a receptionist, who will schedule follow-up appointments and print a summary of your visit.
What to Bring
- Current glasses and previous prescriptions
- Contact lenses, prescriptions, or branded packaging
- Medications, such as eye drops
- Records of past eye exams (if you are a New Patient)
- Someone to drive you home in case we dilate your eyes, as the drops may make your vision blurry
- A face mask (optional)
How Long Will I Have to Wait?
All patients are seen in order of appointment time. Please do not worry if someone who has arrived after you is called before you, as there can be up to 6 doctors working at any one time and you may be on a different doctor’s schedule. Because of the time it takes to dilate eyes and perform testing, including diagnostic imaging, please be mindful that your visit can take up to 2.5 hours. Please plan your morning or afternoon accordingly.
What to Expect with Dilation
Dilation is an essential part of your medical eye exam. This makes the pupil (the black window of the eye) wider so that the eye doctor can see everything inside of your eyes. A small amount of dilating eye drops are given. It usually takes about 25 minutes for your pupils to fully open.
While your eyes are dilated, your vision may be blurry and you will have trouble focusing on objects close to you. You may also experience extra sensitivity to light, so we provide disposable sunglasses for you to wear after your visit.
On average, the effects of dilating eye drops last for several hours, but every person is different. To be safe, you should make arrangements to have someone drive you home after your appointment.
Specialties and services
Our comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation and treatment services include:
- Comprehensive eye exam including prescription for glasses and/or referrals for contact lens
- Cataract evaluation and surgery
- Urgent eye care
- Screening for diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration
- Management of dry eyes
Referrals are provided for advanced eye care such as cataract surgery, glaucoma, retina, oculoplastics, contact lenses, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, uveitis and neuro-ophthalmology.
We provide comprehensive eye care and surgical care for individuals requiring cataract extraction. A cataract is a clouding of the eyes natural lens that worsens over time causing blurry vision. Cataracts are the primary cause of vision loss among adults and are often times associated with normal aging. When a cataract is mature or significantly advanced, it may become difficult to read and perform normal tasks.
A person who develops a cataract in one eye will often develop a cataract in the other eye. After surgical intervention and the placement of an intraocular lens, patients can achieve significant visual improvement.
We offer medical and surgical treatment for trauma and various disorders of the eyelids, lacrimal drainage system and orbits.
We treat disorders of the cornea as well as the external segment of the eye. Our excellent medical and surgical treatment includes corneal transplantation and cataract surgery. Commonly treated eye conditions include:
- Corneal trauma, scarring, ulcer, infection and edema
- Keratoconus
- Fuchs' Dystrophy
- Cataracts
- Dry eye syndrome
- Pterygium
We are dedicated to delivering advanced treatment to people suffering from glaucoma, which consists of a group of disorders that affect pressure within the eye and cause damage to the optic nerve. Common glaucoma disorders include:
- Open-angle glaucoma
- Angle-closure glaucoma
- Neovascular glaucoma
- Congenital glaucoma
- Uveitic glaucoma
Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. There is no current treatment for vision loss, but regular visits to your ophthalmologist can control the condition and prevent further vision loss.
Glaucoma specialists use a variety of diagnostic services and provide treatment options to prevent further damage based on the diagnosed glaucoma type. Options may include eye drops, laser treatment and surgery.
Our retina service is committed to providing comprehensive management of both medical and surgical diseases that affects the retina and vitreous, including:
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Retinal detachments
- Macular holes
- Macular edema
- Penetrating ocular trauma
- Retinal occlusions
- Uveitis
- Endophthalmitis
- AIDS-related retinitis
- Proliferative vitreoretinopathy
- Retinal vascular diseases
- Vitreous hemorrhage
Our retina specialists use the most advanced tools in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases, including:
- A- and B-scan ultrasonography
- High resolution digital fluorescein and ICG angiography
- Fundus photography
- Spectral domain optical coherence tomography
- Fundus autofluorescence
We treat strabismus (eye misalignment) in both adults and children. It is important to have potential problems checked early to help children achieve the best possible lifelong vision. We evaluate children with all types of eye problems and commonly treat conditions including refractive errors, Strabismus, which involves misalignment such as crossed eyes and can produce double vision and eyelid problems such as droopiness or swelling (chalazia or styes). Visit the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU site for more information.
We provide consultation and referral care for patients with vision disorders related to the nervous system, including:
- Conditions of the optic nerve and visual pathways
- Papilledema
- Visual field defects
- Transient visual loss
- Diplopia
- Ocular motor disturbances
- Pupil abnormalities
- Eyelid ptosis
Special services include automated perimetry for visual fields, optical coherence tomography, fundus photography, critical flicker fusion frequency, visual evoked potentials and electroretinograms.
For more information, please visit our Neuro-Ophthalmology page.
We provide primary eye care and evaluation of the visual system including refractive, contact lens and ocular health examinations. Our optometrists are specialists in contact lens management and fit contacts for both cosmetic and medically necessary purposes.
We provide health examinations of the internal and external structure of the eyes to help diagnose eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts and retinal disorders. Our services include:
- Primary care exams for refractive conditions including nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia
- Ocular health exams for systemic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory conditions
- Base exams for chronic problems including dry eye, conjunctivitis and headache-related eye problems
- Contact lens exams including cosmetic fittings (spherical, toric, mono-vision and multifocal) and medically necessary fittings (keratoconus, aphakia, corneal transplant, post-refractive surgery, corneal scars and anisometropia)
Patient Resources
We welcome patients of all ages at three locations. We provide a broad spectrum of eye-care services to meet our patients' needs, from refractive care to cutting-edge vision surgery.
Patients can choose private-practice care provided by experienced faculty in addition to faculty-supervised care provided by medical school graduates in our residency program.
A referral from your primary care physician might be required since we provide specialty care.
New patients are encouraged to download, complete and bring the following form to your first visit. Please note that most eye appointments are approximately 2 hours long and your eyes will be dilated (this means your near vision will be blurry and you will be sensitive to light for several hours after). Please arrange appropriate transportation.
We accept most insurance plans. Please bring your insurance card and photo ID to each visit. Copayments are collected at check in; self-pay patients are required to pay at the time of service.
Patients with limited financial resources might qualify for assistance. To check if you qualify, call our financial screening department at (804) 828-0996. Assistance is based on income, assets and need.
The screening process may take six to eight weeks once financial counselors receive all required information.
For more information, view the VCU Medical Center's patient guide.
The following websites provide facts and information about a wide range of eye-related topics: