The Examination Process

Appointments

Appointments are best made by phoning so as to better accommodate the patient’s preferences for the day and time of the visit. When you call to make an appointment, you will be asked for a phone number where we can contact you easily. If an appointment has to be cancelled or moved, please phone and give the Clinic at least two weeks prior notice.


Preparing for the visit:

  • If you wear contact lenses, remove them at least 5 days before the exam
    Wearing soft, gas permeable and hard contact lenses even for only a few minutes leaves an impression on the cornea that can be detected at the start of the eye exam, and will compromise the accuracy of the results. The examination will not be performed unless you removed your contacts at least 5 days before the appointment.

  • All eye make-up must be thoroughly removed
    If you are wearing eye make-up, all traces must be removed even at the clinic before the exam.

  • Bring any recent ophthalmological records that might help to better understand your current clinical conditions (regarding prior surgeries, etc.).

  • Bring your regular eyeglasses or any optician prescriptions.

For appointments, call
(+39) 02 55211388

We recommend that you do not come to your appointment alone, since we will be dilating your pupils to examine the back of your eye and this may make driving difficult and uncomfortable.

On arrival at the clinic

Privacy

When you arrive at the clinic for the first time, you will be given a Privacy Form, which must be completed and signed and remains on file in our Patient Records Department for 10 years (as per Italian Leg. Decree nr. 196/2003)
The document tells patients that their personal information will be stored for administrative reasons and as such will only be communicated for administrative purposes (office secretary, accountant).

Your clinical data might be used anonymously within the clinic exclusively for scientific research purposes.
Clinical data is collected for furthering on-going research in the field of ophthalmology and thus achieve a more accurate diagnosis.

Download the Privacy Form

Patient database

Our office secretaries will then file your personal data in your patient record file so as to complete the patient database.

We recommend that you advise us if you change your telephone contact numbers so that we can reach you if necessary.

Before the examination

Our medical staff begins by reviewing your clinical and family history, both current and past. The first part of the eye exam involves an assessment of the anterior segment, ocular adnexa, tonometry and vision, without pupil dilation. Eye drops will be used to dilate the pupil and examine the back of the eye (the fundus), and vision will be measured again with the pupil dilated. If you know you are allergic to or have an intolerance for the active ingredient contained in the drops (tropicamide, phenylephrine, pilocarpine , atropine), please notify the office secretary or medical staff without delay.

Our ophthalmology assistances are qualified to perform a number of non-invasive diagnostic tests such as corneal topography, endothelial microscopy, tonometry and other exam that are part of the diagnostic and therapeutic process.

Memo for the patient: We recommend that you jot down any questions you would like answered concerning your clinical case. In our experience, patients may be shy about expressing their concerns or asking for information.

The routine visit: three steps

Step 1

Instrumental diagnostic exams and preliminary patient background (medical history).

Step 2

Preliminary eye exam including vision test with normal non-dilated pupils (myosis).

Step 3

Eye exam with dilated pupils to observe the retina and peripheral areas. Visual defects are double checked using cycloplegic agents that temporarily prevent the eye from focussing.
 Step 3 may vary depending on the disorder/disease, the patient’s conditions, any needs highlighted during previous exams or additional diagnostic procedures that need to be performed with the pupils dilated (mydriasis).

For such in-depth examinations, patients are advised to allow for at least two hours.