This review is for Dr. Joshua C. Yu…read more
Around this time, last year, I was surfing the web looking for an Ophthalmologist, when I came across Dr. John S. Kung, and decided to call for an appointment.
Rather than wait two months, which seemed to be rather absurd, I chose to go
with Dr. Yu. Upon meeting the doctor, I found him to be very confident and astute
in an exceptionally cheerful way, and as we began conversing, I could tell by the
way he composed his words, that the man was an intellectual scholar! After he
learned my grandfather had glaucoma, and that I never had an eye exam before,
he organized a series of tests. Test #1 was simply a visual acuity test. One that
entails blocking each eye (one at a time) with an occluder, while attempting to
read the smallest of letters from a standardized chart on a lighted background.
Test #2 was taken on a Phoropter. That intricate piece of metal equipment with
lenses and knobs, surrounded by numbers graded in degrees, that both eyes
go into, to quickly determine the exact vision correction needed by each individual
eye. Dr. Yu would frequently ask, "is your vision better or worse?" It turned out
I only needed reading glasses, marked appropriately +1.25, that I could buy
in any convenient store, because both eyes were similar in vision!
Then it was time for test #3. The Perimetry test on the Humphrey Field Analyzer.
This was more like a visual exam, where I had to stare into a medium sized
machine and not blink, while the white light blared and flashed. . . Then I was
told to tap a response a button when I saw "tiny lights" in the furthest reaches
of my peripheral vision, and my reaction time was duly noted by the computer.
During the course of this test some of the lights became so dim, "I wasn't sure
if I was seeing them at all!" I then heard a range of noises as the light projector
moved and the shutter opened and closed. Trying to ignore these sounds and
respond only to the lights became exceedingly frustrating, and after about thirty
minutes, it was time for the right eye. I was told I had perfect peripheral vision,
which made me feel good, but he still wanted to run some other tests, and so
went down the list.
After this, he said he was going to numb my eyes for test #4.
The "Gonioscopy test." (Angle in which the iris meets the cornea)
Then he performed test #5. The "Pachymetry test." (Thickness of the cornea)
And then test #6. The "Tonometry test." (Inner eye pressure)
After this Dr. Yu said he was going to put several drops in my eyes to dilate them,
which in turn, brings us to test #7. (An Ophthalmoscopy test.) When I asked him
why he had to dilate my eyes, he replied, "because it enables me to see into the
back of each eye for any problems. Dr. Yu also told me that "eye dilation" can help
an eye doctor diagnose many common diseases and conditions, such as. . .
Diabetes
Eye tumors
High blood pressure
Infectious diseases
Macular degeneration
Retinal detachment
Vasculitis
Dr. Yu explained to me that many diseases and conditions can be detected at their earliest stages during an eye exam, and for this reason alone, most eye doctors will recommend "eye dilation" as part of the routine eye exam schedule. In other words, since my grandfather had glaucoma, I would forever be at risk, and so every year, I would have to stop in to have my pupils opened. I was happy to hear that my eyes were in perfect health, but still he took a series of pictures of my retinal nerve just to confirm everything was perfect! He then shook my hand, and told me he would see me next year. "A less comprehensive exam," he said, laughing! Wow, I thought, what a great eye doctor! (One I will most certainly highly recommend!!!)
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