New Tampa Eye Institute Offers Quality, Caring Ophthalmology!

By Camille Gillies

 

Never underestimate the importance of getting your annual eye exam.

For example, did you know that damage to your eyes can occur long before a diagnosis of a disease like diabetes? In the early stages of diabetes, swelling and bleeding may occur in the eye, and an ophthalmologist can detect the problem, treat it with laser therapy and save the patient from severe vision loss down the road. With more than 7 million cases of undiagnosed diabetes in the U.S., chances are you or someone you know would benefit from a comprehensive eye examination by a quality, caring ophthalmologist.

Ophthalmologist Gretta Fridman, M.D., shared this information while conducting a tour of her brand-new office at New Tampa Eye Institute, located in Summergate Professional Park, behind Sam’s Club, off S.R. 56, in Wesley Chapel. With the smell of fresh paint still lingering in the air, Dr. Fridman (pronounced “Freed-man”) explained that although ophthalmologists perform surgery and treat serious eye conditions, general eye exams are part of the practice, too. Unlike an optometrist, however, an ophthalmologist is a medical doctor with either an M.D. or D.O. degree who has special training and skills to diagnose and treat all diseases and disorders of the eye.

Dr. Fridman received much of her advanced training in Tampa while completing her residency and fellowship at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. She attended medical school at the State University of New York Downstate, Brooklyn, and received an undergraduate degree from Barnard College, New York City.

 

Ophthalmological Specialties

Well-versed in all aspects of ophthalmology, Dr. Fridman specializes in treating diseases of the eye, including:

• Cataracts, or the clouding of the eye’s lens, which can lead to blurry vision, and surgery is the only way to remove them. Symptoms include a painless blurring of vision, light sensitivity, poor night vision, double vision in one eye, needing brighter light to read and fading or yellowing of colors. The most common cause of cataracts is age, but other contributing factors include family history medical problems (such as diabetes), eye injury, medications (especially steroids), radiation, long-term, unprotected exposure to sunlight and previous eye surgery.

• Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve and a leading cause of blindness. It can damage nerve fibers and increase pressure inside the eye. Since symptoms are not noticeable until the damage has already occurred, preventing blindness from glaucoma is another reason to keep up with your eye exams. Glaucoma is often controlled with eye drops, but Dr. Fridman, who has a subspecialty in glaucoma, says she will perform surgery when the condition cannot be controlled through other means. Risk factors for glaucoma include age, elevated eye pressure, a family history of glaucoma, being of African or Spanish ancestry and past eye injuries.

“You think of glaucoma as affecting seniors, but it affects a younger population, too,” Dr. Fridman explains. “Certain types of it can run in families.”

• Ocular Surface Disorders stem from tear duct and eyelid abnormalities. These include blepharitis (an inflammation or infection of the eyelid) and conditions such as dry eye. Dry eye may be treated with punctal plugs (devices inserted into the tear duct to block drainage), prescription drugs or surgery.

 

A Caring, Friendly Approach

Dr. Fridman says she chose ophthalmology as her field of expertise because it’s a mixture of surgical and medical specialties. “And, you see the same patients year after year,” she adds. “Because repeat visits are necessary, you really do get to know your patients.”

In fact, thanks to her residency at USF, she has gotten to know many patients at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in North Tampa. She also practiced at the Orlando VA Medical Center, but the 90-mile commute became too much travel, so she is concluding her work in Orlando, but continuing on staff part-time at the Tampa VA hospital. “I enjoy the patient population there,” she says.

Dr. Fridman runs her practice with a personal approach. “We will spend as much time as needed with each patient,” she says. “This is a patient-centered practice, where I really try to address the individual problems and concerns of every patient.”

 

Flex Hours, High-Tech Office

The office accepts most medical insurance plans and offers flexible hours. To accommodate busy schedules, New Tampa Eye Institute is open Thursday nights and every other Saturday, with same-day appointments available for emergencies.

The facility is equipped for laser surgery, and if surgery in an operating room is necessary, Dr. Fridman performs such procedures at the New Tampa Surgery Center, located nearby on Cypress Ridge Blvd.

Dr. Fridman says her husband, Michael Alperovich, has been instrumental in constructing and opening the new office, which is totally paperless.

“We have the latest medical records technology and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment,” he says, indicating that one of the exam rooms was designed specifically for wheelchair accessibility.

The couple moved to New Tampa in 2007 and is excited about the growth potential of this new venture. According to Dr. Fridman, ophthalmologists are scarce in the New Tampa/ Wesley Chapel area.

“At one time, the closest ophthalmologist (to Wesley Chapel) was in Zephyrhills,” she says, adding that she eventually plans to expand the New Tampa Eye Institute to include other subspecialties, including oculoplastics, which involves plastic surgery of the eye. She also is enthused about the addition of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, where she hopes to have operating room privileges.

“We love New Tampa and Wesley Chapel and want to raise our kids here as well as work here,” she explains. The couple lives in Hunter’s Green and has two daughters, ages 3 and 6.

For more information, call the New Tampa Eye Institute (27348 Cashford Circle, off S.R. 56 and Ancient Oaks Blvd.) at 994-7000 in Seven Oaks. The office’s website, NewTampaEyes.com, is currently under construction, but should be online soon.

Our Exclusive First Peek Inside Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel!

By Matt Wiley

Although the walls are still bare and many rooms sit unfinished or, at least unfurnished, the under-construction Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) is already an impressive sight, with its three-story glass atrium lining the front wall, reflecting the work being done on the outside to those passing by on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. The hospital will be an extraordinary addition to the community and drive the local economy when it opens to patients in early October.Continue reading

Meadow Pointe-To-K-Bar Connector Still Not Happening

On the Pasco County side of the roadblocks, lively communities of people go about their lives, never having to worry about traffic from the south moving through their area. The lonely road once thought to be an appealing portal to Wesley Chapel sits barren and unused, a thin strip of undeveloped land hugging its shoulders.Continue reading

Trees In Tampa Palms Fall During The Widening Of I-75

By Matt Wiley

Sam Shaheen could sometimes forget that I-75 was right behind his home on Yardley Way in Tampa Palms. That is, until all the trees behind his house were chopped down, leaving the home with a front row view of the noisy interstate. Now, however, a large, cement “sound wall” has been erected to “fix” the problem.

“They told us about four years ago that a wall would go up,” says Shaheen. “I guess I thought they would have left the trees up and built the wall behind them. It was a very nice view. I was shocked.”

Several homes along Yardley Way and Hammet Rd. in The Enclave once enjoyed pleasant views of a small pond bordered by trees on the far side, shielding the residences from the not-so-pleasant view of I-75.

Seeing the interstate out the back window would be bad enough, but it has become especially worse thanks to the current construction project to widen the interstate to three lanes in both directions. And now, residents living on the east end of the street get to stare at a large cement wall.

Chris Welcomer and his family just moved onto Yardley Way about three weeks ago, before the wall was built.

“They put it up fast,” he says. “We saw the posts for it when we were moving in. They told us when we were closing on the house that it wouldn’t be up until the fall.”

Welcomer says that there has been a small difference in the amount of noise since the wall was put up, but nothing too substantial.

Spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) John McShaffrey explains that the wall will only be in place at certain sections along the interstate.

“Only one section qualified (for a wall),” he says, “and that is on the west side of I-75 in front of The Enclave.”

McShaffrey says that, through noise studies, FDOT examines the cost of each wall and looks at how many homes will ultimately be affected by interstate noise to determine which sections qualify for a wall.

He also says that noise studies have shown that trees don’t really factor into noise buffering.

FDOT is exempt from any local ordinances concerning the replanting of trees along the interstate corridor. He says they are considered “clear zones” and that, with the widening of the interstate, there has to be room for storm drainage to be installed. In addition, trees have to be planted a certain distance away from the interstate as a precaution for any vehicles that veer off the roadway.

“(FDOT) is not replacing any trees at this point,” he says. However, City of Tampa Parks & Recreation director Greg Bayor says that there will be Southern Red Cedars planted in between the gaps in the sound wall to help eliminate the interstate from view. But, for those living with the wall view, as of this point, no trees are planned to be planted in front of the noise wall.