In 1975, my family emigrated to the US from South Vietnam as the result of the war. After spending a summer in California, we settled in Oklahoma, where our sponsor lived. Although I was not Sooner-born, I was definitely Sooner-bred as I grew up in Oklahoma from the age of 7 1⁄2 until graduating from medical school at the University of Oklahoma. I made a last minute decision and switched to Ophthalmology. I felt very lucky to match in an Ophthalmology residency program at Indiana University.
After four years in Indianapolis, it was time to find a job. Although the benefits were right and the job in Americus seemed a good fit, I moved to south Georgia with lots of trepidation.
Among the top of this list included: 1) How would an Asian fit into the culture in south Georgia? and 2) How would a single man find relationships in south Georgia. My initial plan was to stay for about 5 years and then relocate. But over 2 decades later, I can say that the fit (culturally, emotionally, and spiritually) was good. After all, I married a girl from Americus, raised 5 children and many dogs, and found Christ here in south Georgia. The rest is just gravy.
My practice in south Georgia has also thrived, as I have performed around 15,000 cataract surgeries. This does not include a variety of other eye surgeries, such as glaucoma, muscle, and plastics surgeries. In 2020, we were blessed to be able to open our office-based surgery center. This allowed us to provide surgeries in a more relaxed and comfortable environment than the hospital.
My philosophy for this practice included two concepts. The first concept is to make Regional Eye Center the place where patients, family, friends, and other doctors want to go for eye care. This requires utilizing all the skills that I learned during medical school and residency. It would also require me to keep an open mind in order to keep up with the changing knowledge of eye care, to stay updated with new technology that is constantly being developed, and to listen to patients in order to provide routine as well as novel approaches to eye care. The second concept is to allow myself and Regional Eye Center to be used by God to expand His Kingdom. This would require humility, boldness, discernment, and wisdom to distinguish between my plan and His plan. This second part is definitely the much more difficult of the two as God is continually teaching me and showing me new ideas and angles with which to perceive things.
I feel that we are not where we want to be on either concepts yet. But that is the point of being human. I and the other doctors continue to strive to achieve these concepts. We will continue to work for all eternity to achieve these concepts. That we have not given up is what makes this practice different and worthwhile. That we have not given up is the real philosophy of this practice.
Specialties: General Ophthalmology Cataract Surgery Laser Vision Correction
Locations: Americus
Education
- B.S. in Zoology (1988) University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma
- Doctor of Medicine (1992) University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Internship (1992-1993) St. Vincent's Hospital and Health Care Center Indianapolis, Indiana
- Ophthalmology Residency (1993-1996) Indiana University Medical Center Indianapolis, Indiana
Board Certification American Board of Ophthalmology
Associations
- Fellow, American Academy of Ophthalmology
- Fellow, American College of Surgeons
- Member, American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery
- Member, Georgia Society of Ophthalmology
- Volunteer, Eyecare America
- Volunteer, Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation
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