I have scheduled surgery with Dr. Koch of Koch Eye Associates for next week. I am having pre-op exam today. His bio indicates he has written seven books on eye surgery, six of which are about cataracts and these books are "standard reading materials for residency programs in the US and abroad." I met with another doctor previously but was not comfortable following my initial consultation for reasons unclear to me. I was happy with my consultation at Koch Eye. My main concern is that Dr. Koch does not see patients until the day of the surgery and previous posts indicate this is not the best way to go. Has anyone had good/bad experiences with him? Any of the surgeons familiar with him? Many thanks.

I think Dr. Koch is an outstanding author. I love his books on cataract surgery, and he has taught many people to become excellent surgeons thanks to his books.
No matter how good a surgeon is, they need to meet with the patient prior to surgery. I can tell you of numerous cases where patients have ended up with serious problems because the technicians examining the patients prior to surgery made mistakes in their judgement. If these patients had seen and talked with their surgeon, I would expect that the outcomes would have been much different.
Besides being a patient, remember that you are a customer. Let Dr. Koch know that you want to potentially have surgery with him, but that you want him to examine your eyes on a day other than your surgery day and go over the risks and benefits. If the doctor does not make himself or herself available prior to surgery, then one should worry what will happen after surgery if there are problems - will the doctor also not be available?

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

As soon as I got your reply I called the center and explained my concerns. Within a half hour I received a call back. They explained that the doctor typically does see patients at the pre-op exam but that he was unavailable on the day I was there (not sure I believe that since it was never mentioned in my consultation that I would be seeing the doctor prior to the surgery). However, they were more than happy to schedule an appt. with the Dr. this week on the day before my surgery. Thank you so much for encouraging me to "buck the trend!" - Cindy