Heaton Eye Associates

It has been many years since we took our son to Dr. Hunter. He was six months old with a 'lazy eye'. Due to immediate corrective surgery, his impediment is a thing of the past. The surgery was outpatient and the recovery was amazing. I wish this technology had been available for me almost 4 decades ago. I endured years of patches, bi-focal and tri-focal glasses. Over 14 years of treatment, my condition became less and less noticeable cosmetically. My objection when seeking medical treatment for my son was not to improve his looks, but to give him something I can only read about. -- The Third Dimension. It is imperative to treat 'lazy eye' early and concisely to allow the young developing brain to learn to meld the vision of each eye into one amazing view. When I see my son enjoying sports and driving, it reminds me time and time again that we made the best decision trusting his optical care to Dr. Hunter. more

The following review is for parents who wonder whether there are effective, non-surgical options to correct a child's vision issues. After 1 visit with Dr. Hunter @ Heaton Eye Associates, he recommended several surgeries on both eyes to correct our child's one lazy eye & scheduled surgery ASAP. Not feeling comfortable with several surgeries on our child's eyes, we questioned regarding patching &/or glasses. Dr. Hunter thoroughly & convincingly explained why patching & glasses would definitely not work for our child's condition. Thankfully, we did seek a 2nd opinion. Within only one (1) month of patching (2 hrs a day 6 days a week) & glasses, our child's condition improved dramatically. Now, after only 2 months (1 month after Dr. Hunter's prescribed surgery would have already taken place), our child's vision issues continue to noticeably improve... all without the trauma & expense of multiple surgeries. Perhaps the multiple surgeries recommended by Dr. Hunter would have indeed corrected our child's vision issues, but it seems that surgery was not the wisest, simplest, & certainly not the most cost effective route (well, perhaps it would have been the best choice financially for Dr. Hunter). Additionally, we were told that our child's initial visit would be $225 for a new patient exam, but there were additional charges for the "Refraction" (glasses) exam ($35) and the "Sensorimotor" (eye muscle) exam ($125). It does not seem logical that any pediatric eye exam would not routinely include evaluation for glasses and muscular issues, both of which are typical issues most pediatric eye patients have. Moreover, eye surgery is not, as Dr. Hunter said, "like aligning the wheels on a car." Research shows that surgery may cosmetically align the eyes while the child continues to see double. Parents please seek wisdom... do some research about other options and seek a 2nd opinion before blindly accepting this or any doctor's recommendations for multiple eye surgeries. There are other, less complicated options. more

The Doctors at Heaton Eye Associates are so caring. Our son sees the Pediatric eye Doctor here and he is so good with him. The only draw back is that they are usually running behind. Plan on being there a while, but I think it is worth the wait as they have done wonders for my son's eye sight. The nurses are also wonderfully patient with the kids. more