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Dr. Stephen Hamilton, MD

Ophthalmologist

Stephen Hamilton MD has been chosen as a top Ophthalmologist in Atlanta by Atlanta Magazine and Castle Connelly. He has been chosen as a top doctor in the USA by his peers and BestDoctors.com. His mission is to provide the most advanced ophthalmologic care in a compassionate and highly skilled manner. He takes a personal interest in the well-being of each of his patients. He has completed thousands of LASIK, cataract, and refractive procedures. Many local and national figures, fellow physicians and eye doctors have chosen Dr. Hamilton as their surgeon. He works as a consulting corneal specialist with other ophthalmology practices throughout the state of Georgia. Distinguished by his personable manner, Dr. Hamilton has a dedicated patient following throughout Georgia and in surrounding states.
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35 years Experience
Dr. Stephen Hamilton, MD
  • Atlanta, GA
  • University of Alabama School of Medicine
  • Accepting new patients

One pupil bigger other eye drooping help?

From this photo it looks like Horner’s Syndrome. While most causes are not serious, it can be. I think you need to see an ophthalmologist or a neurologist, or even better a neuro-ophthalmologist READ MORE
From this photo it looks like Horner’s Syndrome. While most causes are not serious, it can be. I think you need to see an ophthalmologist or a neurologist, or even better a neuro-ophthalmologist as soon as you possibly can.

Stephen Hamilton, MD

Cataracts?

The short answer is that the risk of endophthalmitis following cataract surgery is a little over 1/1000. Many patients with this type of infection suffer permanent vision loss. READ MORE
The short answer is that the risk of endophthalmitis following cataract surgery is a little over 1/1000. Many patients with this type of infection suffer permanent vision loss. If both eyes are operated on the same day, there's an obvious risk of permanent vision loss in both eyes. The risk can be lowered by treating both surgeries as a single operation, utilizing a separate prep, drape, and instrumentation. At some point, I expect that Medicare will determine that the risk is worth the decrease in cost and convenience, but at this point it's just not done in the USA.

Stephen Hamilton, MD

Is it a blood clot or pink eye?

An image would be helpful but with no other symptoms it’s most likely a sub-conjunctival hemorrhage. You can Google it for examples. Usually looks more like a bright red pool of READ MORE
An image would be helpful but with no other symptoms it’s most likely a sub-conjunctival hemorrhage. You can Google it for examples. Usually looks more like a bright red pool of blood than a pink eye. Such hemorrhages are not concerning unless there has been an injury or if the pt has a blood clotting problem or is on blood thinners in which case there may be bruising in other places. It should resolve spontaneously but can take more than a week.

What happens if you blink during laser eye surgery?

You will not be able to blink during the surgery. Your eye will be held open with a lid speculum. If you do blink, nothing will happen and the laser will be locked-in and tracking READ MORE
You will not be able to blink during the surgery. Your eye will be held open with a lid speculum. If you do blink, nothing will happen and the laser will be locked-in and tracking your eye for any slight movement.

Stephen Hamilton, MD

Is cataract surgery painful?

I have not had cataract surgery, but I have done thousands and thousands and I would say generally, a routine case is not at all painful. There are many options for anesthesia READ MORE
I have not had cataract surgery, but I have done thousands and thousands and I would say generally, a routine case is not at all painful. There are many options for anesthesia and sedation when needed and just making sure that your surgeon is aware of your apprehension should go a long way to keeping you very comfortable during the procedure. Please don’t worry. In virtually every case I finished today, the patient was shocked at how easy it was.

Stephen Hamilton, MD

Can an ophthalmologist perform cataract surgery?

Yes.

Stephen M. Hamilton, MD

Ophthamologist surgeon VS retina surgeons

Ophthalmologists ARE surgeons, but most do not do retinal surgery unless fellowship trained in that. So, if I needed retinal surgery, I would find an ophthalmologist that is fellowship READ MORE
Ophthalmologists ARE surgeons, but most do not do retinal surgery unless fellowship trained in that. So, if I needed retinal surgery, I would find an ophthalmologist that is fellowship trained in retina or a “retinal specialist.”

Stephen M. Hamilton, MD

Do eye cosmetics cause blindness?

Blindness is a giant leap. Even vision loss would be unusual unless you are using contaminated or toxic products that get in your eyes and lead to serious infection. If the eyes READ MORE
Blindness is a giant leap. Even vision loss would be unusual unless you are using contaminated or toxic products that get in your eyes and lead to serious infection. If the eyes are burning you may have gotten something in them that needs to be rinsed out and avoided. Use artificial tears and keep products away from the eyes that may get in them from sweat, crying, rubbing, especially if a contact lens wearer. If symptoms persist or worsen then by all means get an eye exam.

My son has a black spot in the white portion of his eye. What is this spot?

The most likely thing would be a nevus (mole), but without seeing him it’s impossible to be sure. If it was my child, I would take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist and get a READ MORE
The most likely thing would be a nevus (mole), but without seeing him it’s impossible to be sure. If it was my child, I would take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist and get a diagnosis and a recommendation.

Stephen M. Hamilton, MD

Can contact lenses be worn by an 8-year-old?

I would be comfortable with this as long as the child is otherwise healthy and as long as I had a responsible parent who learned all about contact lens insertion and removal and READ MORE
I would be comfortable with this as long as the child is otherwise healthy and as long as I had a responsible parent who learned all about contact lens insertion and removal and lens hygiene and did all of this for the child. The simplest would be to use daily disposable lenses and just throw them away after the activity. I’m assuming that swimming is not one of the sports. I would not let my child swim in contact lenses, and I absolutely would not allow him to sleep in them.

Stephen M. Hamilton, MD

My dad is suffering from hypertension. Of late he has been complaining of double vision. Are the two related?

There certainly could be a relationship. Anyone with true acute onset double vision should be evaluated urgently by an ophthalmologist. Stephen M. Hamilton, MD www.eyeconsultants.net READ MORE
There certainly could be a relationship. Anyone with true acute onset double vision should be evaluated urgently by an ophthalmologist.

Stephen M. Hamilton, MD
www.eyeconsultants.net

My eyes feel very dry after LASIK. Why could this be?

This is actually not uncommon after LASIK. LASIK surgery can definitely cause the worsening of any pre-existing dry eye condition, and even cause symptoms in patients who previously READ MORE
This is actually not uncommon after LASIK. LASIK surgery can definitely cause the worsening of any pre-existing dry eye condition, and even cause symptoms in patients who previously were asymptomatic. That is why all of my LASIK patients get evaluated for dry eyes preoperatively.

When the LASIK flap is created, some corneal nerves are severed, and until there is some re-innervation, you can have dry eye symptoms. This mostly manifests as fluctuating vision, but you can also have discomfort. I would use liberal preservative free artificial tears and if that’s not giving you improvement, I would certainly see your surgeon.

Stephen M. Hamilton, MD
www.eyeconsultants.net

Is there an age restriction for a refractive surgery?

Your daughter needs to be fully grown with a consistent refractive error for at least a year or two. In the early days, I used to do LASIK on 18-year-olds. Unfortunately, I found READ MORE
Your daughter needs to be fully grown with a consistent refractive error for at least a year or two. In the early days, I used to do LASIK on 18-year-olds. Unfortunately, I found that too many of them went off to college and came back needing an enhancement a few years later. Now I don’t do surgery on anyone under 21 unless there are special circumstances and with full understanding that they may get a good result initially that could change over time.

Stephen M. Hamilton, MD