re: Optometry: LA HB 1065/SB 568: What if your Louisiana Eye Surgeon is NOT an MD?

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I just hope we don't push eye health back.

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Me neither. That's why I hope the bill only passes under the condition that all surgeries performed in the state of Louisiana fall under one, unified board.

Can't say one way or the other about this. Not an expert on the laws regarding stem cells. Anybody else know?

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How is a laser blowing a hole in the eye minimally invasive?

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Invasive vs minimally invasive is a question of semantics, IMO. For me, this isn't an issue of whether or not ODs would be capable of performing these lasers properly. Sure, there would be a learning curve, but I'm fairly confident that the vast majority would educate themselves and seek training before performing the procedures. I don't think you'd see ODs all over Louisiana lasering everyone that walked into their office once the bill passes.

The much bigger question is do the ODs have the diagnostic skills necessary to know when surgery is necessary. I see patients all the time that bring this into question. Just today, I saw a patient that was told he had elevated pressure in his only good seeing eye and he needed to be treated for it. When I saw him today, his eye pressure was normal showed no signs of glaucoma. If the bill passes, that OD could've just done a laser procedure on his only good eye when it wasn't necessary. I provided another example of this type of mismanagement earlier in this thread, and the example on the previous page by Hater Bait is another instance that shows ODs don't have great diagnostic skills when it comes to the diagnosis of eye disease. I see these type of questionable diagnoses fairly often in my practice.

And I'm sure you took into consideration the patients diurnal variation as well pachymetry to determine the pressure wasn't high. Maybe referring doc didn't have access to pachymetry or doesn't treat Glaucoma. Not all ODs are certified to use therapeutics, just like not all ODs will get certified to use lasers. Sounds like this particular OD didn't feel comfortable, and wanted a second opinion.

If the optometrist can, I'm going to. At least I went to med school. I figure a 3 day course in Vegas should do it.

Imma say performing 100-200 cataract operations gives one an excellent knowledge of the anatomy of the anterior/posterior chambers and lens capsule and exactly where this membrane they're shooting might be?

Actually you can already do the procedures based on the fact that you went to med school. Doesn't matter what specialty you are in.

Plus, physicians are typically not going to do procedure they have not trained for. Way too big of a risk of getting sued and it could harm the patient

I'm sure ophthalmologists don't ever misdiagnose or make hair brained decisions. The best was the late 80s when they thought that making up to 32 radial incisions into the cornea with the hope of flattening their k's to 35.00 and giving their cornea waves that would make a tsunami jealous was the best. I've got an office full of folks that need a contact lens as big as a pie plate on top of a cornea as flat as a wall to have some semblance of what you and I call vision. I manage patients whom I am sure never had glaucoma, but had an SLT done. It is perfectly fine to prophylactically treat ocular HTN with SLT. YAG capsulotomy??? My God, I may pit a lens. I know several primary docs that perform chalazion removal. They aren't surgeons either and I am sure that my lid anatomy knowledge is superior to theirs.