The Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant

The Basic Bookshelf for Eyecare Professionals is a series that provides fundamental and advanced material with a clinical approach to clinicians and students. A special effort was made to include information needed for the certification exams in ophthalmic and optometric assisting, as well as for surgical assistants, opticians, plus low vision, and contact lens examiners.

This book contains basic guidelines and typical scenarios that the ophthalmic surgical assistant needs to know. The text begins with the operative patient, including preoperative testing and consents, and travels through the operating room experience. Topics include gowning and gloving, preparing trays and tables, and sterilization techniques. Detailed descriptions of common operative procedures such as plastics, cataract, corneal, and retinal procedures are also included. Operative notes are written on a minute-by-minute basis so the reader can become familiar with the instruments and other implements, and the order in which they are used. This text will help prepare the ophthalmic assistant for any setting, whether it be hospital or office based.

The book contains black-and-white illustrations.

The Basic Bookshelf for Eyecare Professionals is a series that provides fundamental and advanced material with a clinical approach to clinicians and students. A special effort was made to include information needed for the certification exams in ophthalmic and optometric assisting, as well as for surgical assistants, opticians, plus low vision, and contact lens examiners.

This book contains basic guidelines and typical scenarios that the ophthalmic surgical assistant needs to know. The text begins with the operative patient, including preoperative testing and consents, and travels through the operating room experience. Topics include gowning and gloving, preparing trays and tables, and sterilization techniques. Detailed descriptions of common operative procedures such as plastics, cataract, corneal, and retinal procedures are also included. Operative notes are written on a minute-by-minute basis so the reader can become familiar with the instruments and other implements, and the order in which they are used. This text will help prepare the ophthalmic assistant for any setting, whether it be hospital or office based.

Gail M. Givler

This book is from The Basic Bookshelf for Eyecare Professionals series. It consists of fourteen chapters that provide a discussion of the different phases of ophthalmic surgery. The most common procedures for each of the ophthalmic sub-specialties are addressed. The purpose is to provide very basic information about commonly performed ophthalmic procedures for the inexperienced ophthalmic surgical assistant. The authors meet their objectives in an organized, systematic manner. This information is for individuals who have not had the experience of working in an ophthalmic operating room. The authors recognize the instrumentation, equipment, and procedures that are unique to ophthalmic surgery and the need to provide information for individuals who may lack either ophthalmic or surgical experience. A basic review of the preoperative phase is provided, including teaching, informed consent, and diagnostics. Information about setting up an operating room for an ophthalmic procedure follows. This information includes instrument sterilization, proper scrubbing and gowning, and sterile technique. Discussion of the most common ophthalmic procedures are broken down into sub-specialties and a basic overview of the anatomy and physiology involved is given, followed by detailed description of those procedures. This description includes step-by-step directions for the procedure along with photographs and proper utilization of instrumentation. Key points are provided for each chapter; abbreviation and acronyms are contained in the appendix. Icons denote items of interest to specific ophthalmic personnel. This book is fairly up-to-date and is a great basic review helpful for those workingin the ophthalmic operating room. More helpful hints and acceptable "short cuts" regarding the principles of ophthalmic surgery would have been useful. This is a good description for all ophthalmic personnel to review to understand the activities of the ophthalmic operating room.

Boess-Lott, Regina, RN, CRNO (Total Eye Care Center); Stecik, Sharon (Total Eye Care Center)