Eye Care Specialists

Eye Care Specialists is a state-of-the-art practice that initiated the multispecialty ophthalmology focus in Southeast Missouri. In 1989, David Westrich, M.D., founded a practice specializing in vitreoretinal disease and surgery. The practice grew from a one-M.D. office to a group of fellowship-trained ophthalmologists collaborating in the area of complex ophthalmologic conditions. In 1998, the name was changed to Eye Care Specialists to encompass the various divisions of ophthalmology specialization. Services include retinal, corneal, LASIK, glaucoma, general ophthalmology (in Poplar Bluff with Dr. Brad Stuckenschneider, M.D.) and low vision.

The treatment of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) continue to advance. Dry macular degeneration affects 22 percent of Americans over 90 and is caused by aging and thinning of the macular tissue (area of the eye for central vision). The wet form of macular degeneration accounts for about 10 percent of all AMD cases. It results from abnormal blood vessels that form underneath the retina at the back of the eye. When these vessels leak fluid or blood, central vision is affected and vision loss may be rapid and significant. Retinal specialists David Westrich, M.D., and Eric Mann, M.D., closely follow new developments and treatments for wet macular degeneration which have advanced rapidly with the use of Visudyne, Macugen, Avastin and Lucentis therapeutics to prevent vision loss. Current studies with drugs that interfere with the chemicals in the body that are critical in causing abnormal blood vessels to grow may soon lead to other treatment options for macular degeneration, the single most important cause of vision loss in the elderly population.

Shawn Parker, M.D., celebrated his 10th anniversary with Eye Care Specialists in 2008. He was the first surgeon in Southeast Missouri to perform LASIK in 1998. LASIK is more popular than ever with about 700,000 Americans having LASIK each year.

Most recently, Dr. Parker has been performing a revolutionary new technique in corneal surgery called Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK). With DSEK, only the diseased endothelial layer of the cornea is removed as opposed to the full thickness of the cornea. DSEK visual recovery is four to six weeks as opposed to six months to a year as with traditional transplants. Dr. Parker is currently the only surgeon in this region performing DSEK transplants.

Dr. Brad Stuckenschneider at Eye Care Specialists in Poplar Bluff introduced the Crystalens Accommodating IOL for cataract procedures in 2008 and has since added the new Crystalens HD Accommodating IOL. The Crystalens "flexes" or "accommodates" to focus on subjects at varying distances, creating a continuous range of vision. More than twice the number of patients implanted with the Crystalens could see at all distances compared to a standard IOL.

D. Shawn Parker, M.D.

Eye Care Specialists is progressive in being high-tech, while preserving a service-oriented focus in "caring for the needs of the special eyes" of its patients. The main office of Eye Care Specialists resides in Cape Girardeau but with satellite locations in three states -- Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky -- the specialized practice serves a wide patient base in the tristate area.