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image of blind woman walking dog

About retinal degenerative diseases?

June 2018

#DidYouKnow Millions of people around the world suffer from retinal degenerative diseases at varying degrees of vision loss including complete blindness. Retinal degenerative disease is a debilitating condition with a major impact on daily life.

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New Instruments

June 2018 Article by Benjamin J. Thomas, MD, RETINA New Instruments
Novel Use Of Sterilized Disposable Surgical Lenses for Posterior Segment Examination: An Opportunity for Equitable Resource Distribution

Global provision of adequate medical care is an immense challenge, and one of its greatest inherent obstacles is the unequal distribution of healthcare workers and resources.

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first visit, doctor houston greeting patient

What can I expect from my first visit?

May 2018

Check in at the front desk with the receptionist and kindly present your insurance card. You will need to fill out some easy health history and general information forms, which you can download, print and prepare before your appointment from your home by visiting the new patient forms page. A technician will then review these forms with you.

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image of globe and butterfly, world water day

Drinking Water is Good for your Eye Health

March 2018 #WorldWaterDay

Every year on March 22nd is World Water Day, #WorldWaterDay. World Water Day is about focusing attention to the importance of water. Staying hydrated throughout the day by drinking water or eating water-rich foods is crucial to stay healthy and maintain the function of your body, your heart, your brain, your eyes and muscles.

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retina times, retina docs to the rescue

Retina Docs to the Rescue

September 2017

Elias C. Mavrofrides, MD, featured in RETINA TIMES, an official publication of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), Meeting 2017, Issue 70, Bridging the Past and the Future of Retina. The incident occured in one of our small satellite offices in Central Florida about 8 years ago. A patient was returning for an intravitreal Lucentis injection. He was seen by the technician, who checked his vision and put in dilating drops. The patient was sitting in the dilating room when another patient noticed the man was struggling to breathe, and then appeared to stop breathing.

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image for how to protect your eyes during the total solar eclipse

How to Protect Your Eyes During the Total Solar Eclipse

August 2017

Recently our Doctors have heard the following question from patients a lot. "What kind of eye protection should I get and wear during the upcoming solar eclipse? How can I protect my eyes from possible damage?" Although Florida is not in the direct path, Floridians are in for a real treat in the sky this summer. On Monday, August 21, 2017, the nation will experience a total solar eclipse, dubbed the Great American Eclipse for its North American path, lasting approximately 2 to 3 hours.

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Biosimilars: Not Your Typical Generic.

April 2017 Retina Today: Article by S.K. Steven Houston III, MD Although the role for this category of medicine in retina is not yet clear, cost will likely be a significant factor.

The Apple iPhone and Range Rover Evoque are well known and successful products. Wanting to claim a part of that success, other companies have come out with their own versions of each of these products. In the world of ophthalmology, the anti-VEGF drugs ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) and aflibercept (Eylea, Regeneron) are also well known and successful products, and now companies are developing anti-VEGF biosimiliars in attempts to get a foothold in the anti-VEGF market, currently valued at $7.5 billion and predicted to grow over the coming decade. This article looks at the anti-VEGF biosimilars arms race and examines what effect it may have on the ophthalmic industry and profession.

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image of john michael night, orlando sentinel, article

Inspire a 'wow' - John Michael Night does it with ease

December 2016

John Evans, Guest columnist, Orlando Sentinel.

The ancient Greeks said that life was like walking backward, with the present unfolding over the shoulders, and with a good view of the past. Who knows what the future brings? So it was with John Michael Night, who one year ago today, was walking into a surprising future as he took his seat in class as a senior at Trinity Prep. Noticing an irregularity in thought, the scholar/athlete soon found himself at the hospital, unable to move anything but his eyelids.

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Radial Retinal Incisions for Complex Pediatric Traumatic Macular Holes

2016 Article by Benjamin J. Thomas, MD, RETINA THE JOURNAL OF RETINAL AND VITREOUS DISEASES Volume 36, Number 1

Surgical Technique. Edited by George A. Williams

The first two reports of macular holes—by Knapp in 1869 and Noyes in 1871—were both traumatic in etiology.1,2 Since these early reports, however, our understanding of traumatic macular holes (TMH) has lagged somewhat behind our understanding of the more common variant, idiopathic macular holes, particularly regarding appropriate intervention. Unlike idiopathic macular holes—the pathology of which is almost purely due to vitreomacular traction, and for which pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), with or without peeling of the internal limiting membrane (ILM), yields a closure rate of 85 to 100%3—TMH results from tractional forces that are more complex and more abrupt in nature.

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In the News Archives

Retina Today — What's in Your OR? Get Behind the Wheel of the Constellation

What's in Your OR? Get Behind the Wheel of the Constellation

September 2015 — Retina Today: Vitreoretinal Surgery. Article by S.K. Steven Houston III, MD

Knowing the bells and whistles of a particular vitrectomy platform widens surgical potential and increases confidence and safety. I recently completed a vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa., where I had the privilege to operate 5 days a week over the past year with 15 talented vitreoretinal surgery attendings. Never again will I get the chance to perform 1200 surgical cases in 1 year and gain surgical proficiency so exponentially. The lessons, techniques, and skills learned have been indispensible to my career. Much like my car, I got behind the wheel of the Constellation Vision System (Alcon) for 8 to 10 hours each day, getting to know the ins and outs of the machine.

Click to Retina Today, September 2015, Vol. 10, No. 6 Issue
Florida Retina Institute — A Lake Mary Life "Focus Story"

Florida Retina Institute — A Lake Mary Life "Focus Story"

"Watching a Florida sunset’s shifting shades of red, admiring a grandchild’s finger-painted portrait, gazing upon a loved one’s smiling face, or reading the last line of a beloved book – for more than 15 years, the skilled doctors of the Florida Retina Institute have been helping our friends and neighbors with failing vision see life’s precious moments. No group of retina specialists has been serving the Lake Mary/Longwood community longer, and no one stays more up-to-date on the very latest treatments and techniques.

The Institute specializes in diseases or injuries of the retina – a light-sensitive membrane in the rear of the eye that acts like a video camera, capturing and transmitting images to the brain. If that’s the most down-to-earth description of the retina you’ve ever heard, it’s not a coincidence at Florida Retina Institute.

“One of our group’s strengths is that we strive to be very approachable when it comes to treating such a complex and important part of the body,” says Dr. Thomas A. Barnard, past chairman of Ophthalmology at Florida Hospital in Orlando, who was fellowship trained in vitreoretinal diseases and surgery at West Virginia University. Dr. Barnard is currently working with the Juvenile Diabetes Research to study a new drug to treat diabetic eye conditions. “We speak to our patients in terms they understand. We treat everyone from newborn babies to patients older than 100.”

“Retinal medicine has improved significantly in the 10 years I’ve been in practice,” says Dr. Elias Mavrofrides, who was fellowship trained in vitreoretinal surgery at the famed Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami. Dr. Mavrofrides was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s top doctors in the U.S. in 2011 and 2013. “We are constantly researching and training to stay at the top of our game. There are new treatments that can slow the progression of common diseases of the retina to minimize their impact on a patient’s life. Whether the issue is basic or complex, we have the necessary experience and the latest skills to achieve the best-possible outcome.”

lake mary life, dr cunningham

“The Florida Retina Institute has a long history of providing excellent care to patients with diseases of the retina,” says Dr. Matthew Cunningham, fellowship trained in vitreoretinal surgery and disease at the University of Iowa. Dr. Cunningham knew he was becoming part of something special when he joined Florida Retina Institute six months ago. “We have a great team here, and we prove it every day. I love my job, and I love the relationships I build with each of my patients.”

In addition to their remarkable credentials, Drs. Barnard, Mavrofrides, and Cunningham have something else in common − they all live in Lake Mary.

Doctor's at the Lake Mary office, which relocated from the original Longwood location in 2004, perform their modern miracles in an atmosphere of extraordinary care and compassion. Doctors and staff help patients decipher their insurance plans, educate them about their eye conditions, and help them adjust to a new lifestyle if they become legally blind.

Florida Retina Institute is often the choice of other local doctors when they need retina treatment for themselves or members of their own families, so it should come as no surprise that the Institute is staffed by a dream team of physicians.

But in final analysis, it is the love and appreciation from Florida Retina Institute’s patients that is most important. One typical example from an Air Force vet:
“Thank you for all the care and professional attention shown to me during the past year. My eyesight has been saved through your work, and I want to say what it means to me. I still share sunrises and sunsets with my beautiful wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.”

Article by Peter Reilly, Lake Mary Life, Photo: Dr. Cunningham demonstrates an eye exam with the help of Nicole Winn.

Click to Dr. Cunningham
Doctors Mavrofrides, Cunningham and Barnard chosen as Orlando’s finest 2013

Doctors Mavrofrides, Cunningham and Barnard chosen as Orlando’s finest 2013

The Florida Retina Institute's Doctors Mavrofrides, Cunningham and Barnard are chosen as Orlando’s finest 2013 and highlighted in the Orlando Weekly. Board Certified Retina Specialists — Whether caused by illness or injury, retinal conditions should be treated by a skilled physician.

Drs. Elias C. Mavrofrides, Matthew A. Cunningham and Thomas A. Barnard at FLORIDA RETINA INSTITUTE are regionally recognized experts in the evaluation and treatment of retinal disease and injury. They specialize in diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous, including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, laser surgery, retinal detachment, macular surgery, penetrating eye injuries, ocular tumors & inflammatory eye disease.

The doctors and their staff have a long history of working with patients with visual difficulties and are sensitive to their needs. They are all committed to making certain that you are comfortable and confident about your surgery and follow-up care.

Please click here to review the profiles and read more.