Dear Madams, Sirs:

The proposal to allow optometric practitioners to perform laser surgery on the eye represents a serious and dangerous risk for the population of Virginia. As Ophthalmologists, we perform over 200 laser procedures with direct supervision on live patients before being allowed to perform these on our own. The risks of laser procedures include bleeding inside the eye, high pressure inside the eye, retinal detachment, and many more. If one of these complications were to occur, we as Ophthalmologists are prepared to handle these complications for our patients. Our medical school education and rigorous Ophthalmology Residency training is what prepares us to perform surgery around and inside the eye. I agree with Dr. Mannis in that it is not feasible to assume that practice on a plastic model without proctored instruction is in any way adequate to prepare a non-surgically trained optometrist to undertake this kind of intra-ocular surgery. We urge the legislature to not approve this proposal in order to protect the health of the citizens of Virginia. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Daniel Montenegro, MD

Miami, FL