Gitschlag and Schmitt MD

We saw Dr. Schmitt when my daughter was 2 months old. Dr. Schmitt was very rude, cold and uneducating. She was very sparse on information on a rare condition she had diagnosed my daughter with. When I would ask questions (because she was giving me no information) she would belittle me and make me feel ignorant for asking... One of which, I asked her "will this ever go away?" Her reply "of course not, there's no treatment, no surgery, nothing." Anyway, I made the decision right then and there that I would never step into that woman's office again. The closest pediatric optimologist that takes our insurance is Nashville, and I was ready to take the hike. Until my primary physician recommended Gitschlag. Our appointment is today and I am relieved after seeing the reviews on here about him. I hope he's wonderful. We really need a nice warm Doctor. more

Dr. Gitschlag performed surgery to correct my straabismus in July 2013. My first consultation happened on a Tuesday, he performed the surgery on Friday, I was back at work on Monday and my eyes have been straight ever since. Absolute BEST in the business & I couldn't be happier! Top to bottom, the entire experience was FLAWLESS! more

Dr. Gitschlag is great! Laid back, explains everything and of course very good with the kids. The office is set up to make kids feel comfortable and to have a good time! more

Dr. Gitschlag is indeed a nice man and if your child's eye issues are routine, than he is probably suitable for your needs. However, my daughter has complex eye issues - ptosis (droopy eyelids) and amblyopia - and Dr. Gitschlag has adopted a very "wait and see" attitude with us. He did not won't to do surgery as it will "just need to be repeated". Yes, that is common with eye issues - mulitple surgeries but you don't NOT do it because you may have to repeat. As an infant, 85% of input and development is vision related, I was not content to wait until she is 3 (as Gitschlag recommended) to address her eye issues. He also fatalistically told us that our child had cortical blindness and probably could not see at all. We ended up going to Vanderbilt where the opthamologist ordered two eye surgeries she desperately needed. The doctor there said it could not wait as her eyelids were covering her pupil and she was not getting adequate visual input. We have worked with a vision specialist therapist who has been able to get my daughter to track objects visually - something she could not do if she was blind!!!! I am not alone in my experience. At Children's Rehab Center where my daughter attends therapy, several mothers have given up on Gitschlag to go to elsewhere (Chattanooga, Vanderbilt) where the doctors are willing to aggressively prevent vision loss for their children. Again, Dr. Gitschlag is a nice man, I will agree and I am sure he is great if you have an older child. However, if you have an infant who needs more than glasses, I recommend you go elsewhere! more

Dr.Gitschlag is a grerat man and doctor. I am a 29 yr female and have had several surgries in the past to correct my lazy eye and for some reason they dodnt take and then last year i hears about Gitschlag and went to seen him and he offered me hope!!! And i have had the surgrey and so far its a success!!! Him and his staff were always helpful and friendly! I am so greatful that i decided to have the surgrey!! more

I have been taking my little girl to see Dr. Gitschlag for five years now, and I am always impressed by how kind, caring, and knowledgable he and his staff are. I would highly recommend his services to anyone in the East Tennessee area! more

My daughter began seeing Dr. Gitschlag when she was 2; she is now 17. He has an amazing staff and is extremely knowledgable. When we first went, she completely failed the eye exam with one eye and did poorly with the other. Although I would have agreed to surgery, he continued patching and working with her eyes. Now, she wears one contact and has BEAUTIFUL eyes. I would consider him and his staff to be miracle workers. We drove an hour and a half to get there and sometimes had to wait, but no matter how many people were in the waiting room - we got individual attention! more

I took my toddler in for an eye exam after she was referred by her pediatrician. The wait for an appointment was long. I was placed on the cancelation list and when someone canceled, they quickly called me and got us right in. The office staff is amazing. I was afraid my child would be scared and uncooperative. They were so sweet and kind to her. She thought she was playing games with them during her exam. Dr Gitschlag was so informative and helpful. He explained everything to me and I felt very informed. more

Do Gary Gitschlag is one of the only pediatric eye doctors in the region. He has patients who travel hundreds of miles just to see him, and we would do the same. he is is a very caring individual and explains things so that it is easy to comprehend. Specializes in nystagmus. He also does various surgeries on the eye. Very smart and caring man. more