Seeing a doctor

In this section you'll find a variety of resources which have been compiled to assist patients when seeing a physician. These include a directory of physicians and surgeons known to perform laser vitreolysis and vitrectomy procedures and a list of questions which may aid in the consultation as well as a Background summary that may be passed onto your health practioner.

When seeing a physician, it is important to maintain an objective viewpoint and realistic expectations.  We live in an age that is accustomed to highly successful medical treatments for all forms of ailments and suffering.  Consequently, it can be upsetting to hear your physician diagnose floaters and state, "you'll get used to it", "your brain will adapt", or "they'll sink out of view in 10-15 years".  Do not confuse these statements with insensitivity; they are simply a reflection of the current state of medicine regarding vitreous floaters and degenerative vitreous syndrome, i.e., vitreous floaters do not threaten the health of the eye and there are few treatment options.  In addition, the common experience of floaters as a rarely noticed speck or squiggle is often considered typical of all floater experiences.  Collectively, these realities may illict statements which, although seem less than emphathetic, are simply  meant to acknowledge the limitations of medical science and put a patient at ease.