About Us
Retina Associates of Kentucky’s physicians and staff diagnose and treat many retina disorders, with specialization in retina detachments, macular degeneration, diabetes related conditions, histoplasmosis and uveitis. Retina Associates of Kentucky Research Division engages in research studies on national and international levels, working in collaboration with the other research centers such as the National Eye Institute. Our doctors are listed among the “Best Doctors in America”; an honor selected by peers and top clinicians.
Although we have branch offices in Lexington, Louisville and Ashland, we have satellite offices throughout Kentucky in Danville, Elizabethtown, Frankfort, London, Paintsville, Richmond, Somerset and in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
What is a Retina Specialist?
A retina specialist is a physician who has completed a minimum of four years of undergraduate work, four years of medical school, one year of internship, three years of ophthalmology residency training, and two years of medical and surgical retina subspecialty training. This training prepares them to care for patients with diseases of the retina and related parts of the eye.
The retina is a thin layer that lines the back of the eye. It is an outgrowth of the brain and is the “film” of the eye, changing light energy around us into nerve signals the brain can understand, allowing us to see. The retina is made up of over 1 million nerve cells, and is a complex tissue with 12 layers. It has an intricate blood supply, with a network of vessels within the retina, as well as a blood filled layer behind it called the choroid. The clear space in front of the retina is filled with a saline like gel called the vitreous. A retina specialist has to understand not only the retina, but the blood vessels and gel that surround it, and how these areas can become diseased. Major advances in imaging and photography have given retina specialist a remarkable ability to diagnose and treat diseases which would have caused blindness just 20 years ago.
Understanding these complex diseases and their treatment, in addition to the demanding microsurgery needed in some of these conditions requires intense training to perform safely.
