Welcome to the Downtown Vancouver Optometry Clinic.  We are pleased to serve you in our fully equipped 3000 sq. foot facility.    The staff and doctors maintain a proud tradition of providing a thorough caring service that has enhanced lives and sight since the practice was founded in 1922.

Our goal is to provide you with clear, comfortable vision.

Our practice grows on referrals…we don’t get a lot of walk-by traffic on the 14^th floor!  Most of our new patients find us through their friends, family and co-workers. These referrals are a measure of how well we provide our services.

This practice is a leader in its field as it continually invests in the best of equipment and the newest diagnostic technologies.  As a result, we are a referral center for other optometrists, for ophthalmologist who have patients requiring specialized vision correction and family physicians who have patients requiring primary eye care or diagnostic services.

Referred patients come for general eye and vision care, pre- and post laser vision correction, cataract care as well as for advanced vision correction for astigmatism, Keratoconus or post trauma vision restoration.

The doctors at the DVOC have a trusted rapport with many eye surgeons and are able to gain prompt access to their services when advanced medical or surgical attention is required.

General Eye Examinations

We provide general eye examinations and routinely test for astigmatism, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and a host of other eye and vision disorders.  Office visits are by appointment Monday thru Friday 8:30a.m. to 5pm.  Referrals are not necessary.

Diabetics

People with diabetes must be seen at least once a year for a comprehensive eye examination.  Diabetics will have their pupils dilated with drops.  Our office offers the option to have a photograph taken of the inside of your eyes.  While less than 35% of eye clinics or hospitals can offer this service, studies show that retinal photography is the best way to detect diabetic eye disease and is the best way to monitor change.

The Medical Services Plan of BC will pay for Diabetic eye examinations.

Retinal photography is not covered by MSP.

Computer Eye Strain

Most of our patients work downtown and work with a computer.  Our doctors are experts in relieving computer-related eye strain.  Don’t be surprised if your optometrist  prescribes a separate pair of glasses for computer use to relieve excessive eye strain at work.  We want your eyes to work…not to overwork.

Contact Lens Service

This practice has a long history of fitting contact lenses since the 1950s.  Our doctors are continually invited to participate in industry and F.D.A. monitored research studies.

We offer:

• Single Use Contact Lenses – you use them once, then throw them away.  These lenses are the safest, cleanest most comfortable and convenient contact lenses available.
• Silicon Hydrogel Lenses - which deliver up to 500% more oxygen than all other types of soft contact lenses.
• Disposable Lenses - the mainstay of modern contact lens modalities.
• Toric Lenses – for Astigmatism
• Bifocal Contact Lenses
• Coloured Contact Lenses – from simple colour enhancement to bizarre theatrical designs.
• Dry Eye Contact Lenses – these lenses have a lower rate of dehydration for enhanced comfort.

Advanced Contact Lens Services

• Orthokeratology – imagine a lens that you put on at night, take off in the morning and you can see for the rest of the day.
• Keratoconus – we are a referral center for people who have a progressive thinning of the front surface of their eyes which causes severe corneal distortions.  These people cannot see with glasses and are not eligible for laser eye surgery.  Their only option is to be fit with a highly specialized contact lens or have a corneal transplant.
• Astigmatism – fit to suit you individual need or a difficult fit.
• Gas Permeable Lenses – the fitting of these rigid lenses is a lost art as less than 5% of contact lens patients wear this modality.  These lenses breathe better, stay cleaner, last longer and are a lower cost than most soft lenses.

Advanced Equipment

1)  Retinal Photography:  We have an advanced digital camera designed to photograph the inside of your eyes for exact documentation of your internal ocular health.  Retinal photography is painless and uses ordinary light.  Computer software assists your eye doctor to detect the early stages of internal eye disease.  This procedure is recommended for all patients but especially those with:

• Diabetes
• HIV – AIDS
• High Blood Pressure
• A history of Cancer
• A history of Retinal Detachment
• Glaucoma or at risk for Glaucoma
• Macular Degeneration or at risk of AMD
• Any other recommendation by your doctor

 2)  Corneal Topography:  a mapping device which documents 25,000 points of digital data and mathematically analyzes the hills and valleys on the surface of your eye.  This tool is essential for all laser eye surgery patients and is used in advanced contact lens fittings and for the detection of corneal diseases such as Keratoconus.

 3)  Visual Field Analyzer:  This state of the art diagnostic tool is the gold standard in the diagnosis of Glaucoma.  By testing your central and peripheral field of vision with spots of light with different sizes and intensity we can assess how much light is taken from your eye to your brain through your optic nerve and along the visual pathway.  This tool helps to identify brain tumors, stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, brain injuries and the toxic side effects of strong medications like Tamoxophen (a cancer drug).

 A Modern Dispensary

Our dispensary has the best view in town!  Where else in Vancouver can you be fit with high quality and affordable eye glasses and see a spectacular view the second you put on your new specs?  Nowhere!   Imagine putting on your new eyeglasses for the first time and looking out at our view.  What a great way to confirm your confidence in our prescription writing and our lens manufacturing abilities.  In fact, most of our patients ask us to fit them with contact lenses or purchase eyeglasses from our expert opticians.

 The dispensing of eyeglasses is at the very heart of the history of optometry and eye care.  While the scope of practice for optometrists has evolved from testing vision and prescribing glasses in the 1700s to diagnosing and treating eye disease today, the highest quality eyeglasses come from a professional optometry office…not a retail store.

 Fast Delivery

1)       Your Glasses In Less Than an Hour – Most single vision prescriptions can be filled in about 20 minutes or at least the same day.  This is helpful if you break or lose your glasses, are on a tight schedule, or need your computer glasses made before you return to work. 

2)       In A Day or Two – More complex glasses must be custom ground and may take a day or two to arrive at our office.  In a crisis, we can make you a temporary pair of glasses until your custom lenses are ready.

3)       In House Edging – We can cut new lenses to fit into the frames you already own while you wait.  This way, you will never be without your glasses!