Dr. Karickhoff is a pioneer and at least he is willing to take on vitreous floaters and attempt to remove them. I respect his military career, his professional reputation and his legacy, but I would not go back to him.
While I was in his unwelcoming office, I witnessed too many unabashed breaches of what seems like acceptable protocol, and while I believe that he does help a lot of people, I feel a responsibility to publish this review.
In his waiting room, the Doctor criticized a patient in front of another patient. That is obviously not acceptable.
He was somewhat rude in his exam room, multiple times, and at one point during the exam he actually (I am going to stop just short of using the word "yelled") raised his voice very significantly and slammed down either a pen or an instrument on a table. I had a very bright light in my eye at the time and I just know that whatever he slammed down was pen shaped, narrow and silver. Do I have to point out that this is obviously unacceptable? It took everything I had to forgo stopping the exam....and contacting the appropriate board.
To me, he did not seem to be entirely in control of his faculties. He was extremely intolerant and impatient and described himself as having difficulty focusing. And at the end of my exam, he stated that he could see absolutely no trace of any floater. No trace...of floaters which other optometrists have been able to see without all of his special lenses, using the basic scope with which he began his exam. Floaters which my optometrist has been able to see for years, using just that basic scope... and which are in fact functionally obstructive. And then he said that he would not be taking any photos.
I feel as though I made a serious mistake in not going right to one of the other optometrists in the neighborhood and asking him or her, while my eyes were still dilated, to tell me if floaters were visible. If another doctor had seen them and been able to photograph them, I would have very much enjoyed having those photos.
I want to be clear....I am not stating that Doctor Karickhoff was lying...but things did not seem right. "I can see them but they're not operable" would have seemed much more plausible, and I believe that there are very likely patients with obstructive floaters which he cannot see, and which are appropriately deemed invisible floaters. But, it seemed to me that he has decided if for any reason he doesn't want to work with a patient, doesn't like a patient or doesn't want to deal with a patient on a given day, it's "invisible floaters," and he can behave as he wishes.
I am not posting this review out of bitterness over his choice to decline doing the procedure. Again, he is definitely a pioneer. He may even be a genius, but because of his behavior and some other things I observed and was told about him, I really do feel a responsibility to post this information. I am not sure that even if he had been fully gung-ho about doing the procedure, he would be the doctor I would want to have doing it. read more
