ON THE NET

This oculoplastics site contains useful information and features for patients and physicians.

EyePlastics.com

In 1997, after completing residency, Mark S. Brown, M.D., started both his fellowship in oculoplastics and a Web site intended to educate patients about the wide range of surgeries an eye plastic surgeon is trained to do.

"The site was pretty primitive at first," says Dr. Brown, who's now in private practice in Mobile, Ala. "I did all the programming. My primary goal was to let patients know that the specialized training an eye plastic surgeon receives makes us more qualified than a general plastic surgeon or an ENT surgeon to perform these procedures involving the complex structures around the eye."

Dr. Brown constantly updates the easy-to-navigatesite with new information, photos and relevant links. The information for each subsection -- eyelid laxity, orbital tumors, lacrimal system and so on -- can be accessed by clicking on a clearly marked box featuring a blinking eye.

"The site has almost become a textbook in oculoplastics," says Dr. Brown. "I know that because I hear from so many residents who use it as a study tool."

Doctors refer patients to the site to obtain information about their eye problems and treatments. A patient-to-patient message board is a worldwide support group.

"It's very reassuring when a patient who has undergone a procedure can tell someone facing the same procedure that the treatment will lead to a much better quality of life," says Dr. Brown.

Patients can also use the site to locate a fellowship-trained ophthalmic plastic surgeon. Doctors pay a fee to be listed, but all content is free.

As the information available on EyePlastics.com has expanded (there are now more than 300 pages), so has the number of visitors. The site now attracts more than 1,000 visitors a day. For the future, Dr. Brown plans to add high-quality videos showing specific procedures from beginning to end.

"I'd also like to get more doctors to participate," he concludes. "I come from an entrepreneurial family, so I'm always thinking of making the site bigger and better."

Visit www.EyePlastics.com 

If you've discovered a Web site or service that's been useful to you in practice or at home, we'd like to know about it. E-mail Jerry Helzner at helznergi@boucher1.com or call him at (215) 643-8013.