Welcome to Eye Care Specialists and thank you for choosing us for your eye care needs. Our surgeons and staff look forward to meeting you and will take extra care in making sure all of your questions and eye care needs are met! This page should answer many of your questions and allow you to prepare for your visit(s) with us.
We very much appreciate your diligence in arriving prepared for your eye exam. This will expedite the check-in process and help us ensure we have the most up-to-date information in your patient record.
The following items usually need to be addressed several days before each eye exam:
We request that you bring the following to each eye exam:
You may qualify to skip the dilation and have a special photo taken of the back of your eye, with our OPTOS ophthalmic camera. There is an out-of-pocket fee for the photo as it is not covered by insurance. Ask the technician, taking you back to see the doctor, if this option is available to you.
Many patients choose this option because they don’t need to bring a driver, they can go back to work, resume their daily activities without blurry vision, and avoid their eyes being sensitive to light.
Please plan for a one to two-hour visit for a comprehensive eye exam, dependent upon the indicated measurements, scans, and imaging.
Your eye doctor will check visual acuity, dilate your eyes, perform an ophthalmoscopy and/or slit lamp exam, and obtain an auto and/or manual manifest refraction. Depending on symptoms and initial screening, some necessary tests may include OCT, visual field, or topography.
You can skip the dilation and have a special photo taken of the back of your eye, with our OPTOS ophthalmic camera. There is an out-of-pocket fee for the photo as it is not covered by insurance.
If you are a candidate for cataract surgery, a cataract consultation and pre-operative exam typically requires one to two hours to schedule your procedure and perform the necessary scans, testing, and measurements for surgery.
You will be dilated for this exam. Possible tests include: visual acuity, manifest refraction, topography, A-scan, and OCT.
Please plan for a one to two-hour visit for a glaucoma exam (if an in-office laser treatment is required, it may be longer).
For this assessment, you will be dilated for an ophthalmoscopy or slit lamp exam and will likely need tonometry, an OCT, pachymetry, and a visual field. See below for details about potential glaucoma testing.
A corneal consultation typically requires one to two hours, depending on the indicated in-office scans, tests, and procedures.
Depending on symptoms and initial screening from the dilation and slit lamp exam, Dr. Parker will likely also conduct topography, an OCT, pachymetry, and a visual field.
Dr. Shawn Parker is our corneal and refractive specialist. He sees patients with complex corneal conditions.
Please plan for three to four hours for an exam with our retinal specialists. If you are diabetic, you may wish to bring a snack. A driver is recommended as dilation is required for each visit (see below for more details about dilation). Retinal exams often indicate an OCT or fluorescein angiogram to determine disease progression and treatment.
Our Retinal specialists are Dr. David Westrich and Dr. Tatyana I. Metelitsina.
A free EVO ICL or LASIK screening is usually 45 minutes to one hour, and pre-operative exams are one and a half to two hours. For extensive information about the LASIK procedure, Dr. Shawn Parker is our corneal and refractive specialist. We schedule free LASIK consultations and post-operative exams at our Cape Girardeau and Marion offices. Due to the intricate equipment necessary to obtain measurements and perform the laser treatment, all pre-operative exams and procedures are at our Cape Girardeau office.
