Uveitis is often defined as a group of inflammatory diseases that produces interocular inflammation and destroys eye tissues. Often misdiagnosed and mistreated, it frequently affects the part of the eye called the uvea–the “middle” layer that contains much of its blood vessels–but also can affect the lens, retina, optic nerve and vitreous. And until recently, it was a sub-specialty that few ophthalmologists, let alone trained retinal surgeons, chose to pursue.
Fortunately for The Retina Group of Washington–and more importantly, its patients–Dr. Brian K. Do has made the study and treatment of Uveitis the focus of his professional training. He has completed Fellowships at such prestigious facilities as the USC Roski Eye Institute in Los Angeles, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary and the Mount Sinai Hospital, both affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. He joined RGW in 2018 at the end of the summer, becoming one of the Washington, D.C. area’s few retinal practitioners with an expertise in treating an eye disease to which 5-20% of blindness in the developed world is attributed, in addition to the diagnosis and treatment of more conventional retinal diseases.
A frequent lecturer on Uveitis, Dr. Do has spoken at events hosted by several highly-respected organizations in the field–the Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology and the American Society of Retina Specialists among them — and most recently made a presentation at RGW’s Optometric Symposium in Washington, D.C. He has conducted research and co-authored articles published in prominent medical journals including Retinal Physician, Current Opinion in Ophthalmology and Ocular Immunology & Inflammation. Dr. Do has also authored a number of textbook chapters on subjects ranging from ocular inflammatory diseases to retinal imaging.
Dr. Do sees patients in the practice’s Chevy Chase and Fairfax offices. He diagnoses and treats those with all types of infectious and non-infectious inflammatory diseases that manifest inside the eye, identifying the source of the inflammation and determining whether to pursue a course of injections, implement systemic therapy, implant a device in the eye to control the inflammation, or in the most serious cases, perform surgery. Dr. Do, as a trained vitreoretinal surgeon, also treats patients with diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration, and performs surgical procedures for conditions like retinal detachment and macular holes.
A frame from a fluorescein angiogram, a dye-based test which is used to visualize the retinal blood flow. This patient carries a diagnosis of sarcoidosis, an inflammatory condition which can affect the eyes, and which led to retinal changes seen here.