Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Fall 2019

www.bartletthospital.org 11 Bartlett Regional Hospital is pleased to welcome eye surgeon Andrew Kopstein, MD. Dr. Kopstein is a board- certified ophthalmologist in Tacoma, Washington. He began a Juneau practice three days per month in August 2019, with plans to expand as volume demands. Through the wonders of virtual technology, community eye doctors can communicate with Dr. Kopstein about patient needs. He will advise remotely and set up patient consultation through community partners. “I’m most excited about bringing modern cataract surgery to Southeast Alaska,” says Dr. Kopstein. “And I’m pleased that we will now be able to treat patients who have macular degeneration and retinal vascular disease in a community where they’ve previously had to fly out of town to get those services.” “If the patient is already established with a community eye doctor, that doctor will determine if they need to have a surgical procedure or injection,” Dr. Kopstein says. “If they require surgery, the patient can now be treated by us here at Bartlett, rather than in Anchorage or Seattle.” If the patient has not yet established care with a local optometric physician, then they will be encouraged to do so from our list of nearly a dozen comanaging doctors in the Southeast Alaska region. Dr. Kopstein sees patients at the Bartlett Surgery and Specialty Clinic, which has new, state-of-the-art Did you know? In addition to ophthalmology, Bartlett Regional Hospital partners with health care providers from throughout Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, including Virginia Mason Medical Center, to offer care in allergy, cardiology, oncology, dermatology and other specialties. Clinics are held periodically with visiting physicians 12 months a year. For clinic dates, times and locations, please see the special clinic schedule at the “Services” tab at www.bartletthospital.org . FOR A REFERRAL TO DR. KOPSTEIN at Bartlett Surgery and Specialty Clinic, please see your community eye care provider. For more information, please call 907-796-8700 . equipment, including “diagnostic machines that give us information we need from the front and the back of the eye to help achieve the best results,” says Dr. Kopstein. He notes that the biggest technological advances are in lens implants and technology that can also correct astigmatism. Technology is used to perform most surgery under topical anesthesia, which allows rapid vision recovery. With modern operating microscope optics, a surgeon can zoom in under very high magnification to improve precision. “For example, with cornea surgery, we don’t have to replace the entire cornea anymore; we can replace parts of the cornea,” notes Dr. Kopstein. “With lens replacement surgery, patients will often notice better vision on the same day or the next day after surgery. That’s the kind of outcome Dr. Kopstein loves to see. In medical school, he was initially most interested in pursuing neurosurgery. “I wasn’t particularly satisfied with the types of neurosurgical outcomes that I was seeing at that time, during my training,” he recalls. “I did notice, however, that the ophthalmologists seemed to love their jobs and that their patients were satisfied the day after surgery. This ability to achieve almost instant microsurgical results appealed greatly to me as a young surgeon, and still carries great importance to me 25 years later.” Andrew Kopstein, MD, loves to see his patients enjoying better vision after treatment. Dr. Kopstein is happy to beworkingwith Juneau community eye care providers as co-managing partners in patient treatment.