By: Kathy Hubbard
Forty percent of people who are at high risk for vision loss didn’t see an eye care professional or have an eye exam in the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. With that in mind, I contacted Dr. Mark F. Torres, MD, ophthalmologist at Bonner General Health and asked a bunch of questions because May is Eye Health Awareness Month. Here are his answers:
KH: What, as an ophthalmologist, do you think is the most important reason for regular eye exams?
MT: I am a firm believer that everyone should start to receive regular eye exams at as early an age as feasible. In the toddler, young children, and teen age groups, the most common vision problem that is encountered is the need for eyeglasses and/or contact lenses to achieve clear vision. Actual eye conditions and diseases are uncommon. In these age groups, clear vision is of paramount importance for school satisfaction and performance, and enjoyable participation in intellectual, recreational, and physical activities.
I recommend that patients start with optometry professionals. They are the experts regarding glasses and contact lenses. In addition, many optometrists are very capable and experienced in the recognition and management of eye conditions and diagnoses. This is especially true in rural settings such as North Idaho. The Sandpoint area is fortunate to have several optometrists who are very capable, talented, and experienced.
If the optometrist feels that a particular patient might need the services of an ophthalmologist, they can facilitate and smooth the referral process for patients.
KH: What eye conditions do you see the most? What types of surgeries and treatments do you provide?
Ophthalmologists are primarily geared towards the recognition and management of eye conditions and diseases, to include eye surgery when necessary. This becomes more significant as patients progress toward the older age groups. Some of the more commonly seen eye conditions include cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic eye disease.
BGH Ophthalmology does primarily cataract and glaucoma surgery. Furthermore, the specialty of ophthalmology includes several sub-specialties, such as retina and pediatric ophthalmology. For patients who might need management and surgery of these types, we have the capability to streamline the process of referral to such sub-specialists.
KH: Many of your patients are referrals for surgeries or treatments. Are there instances where you don’t see what the referring doctor saw? Or you didn’t agree with the assessment? Or you saw something different or more serious?
MT: Ophthalmology can be a medical specialty that is foreign to other health care professionals who may not have been exposed to the specialty during medical training or afterwards in their practice setting. Sometimes these providers just don’t have the tools or technology to work with that would
allow them to identify eye conditions or diseases. In other instances, patients are referred to ophthalmology when there might be confusion regarding a particular condition, or when a second opinion is indicated regarding the identification and management of a particular eye diagnosis.
KH: Has technology changed how you perform surgeries? And how does that benefit the patient, and you as a surgeon?
MT: Ophthalmology is a specialty which overlaps to a great extent with other scientific disciplines – physics, optics, and lasers primarily. Due to this, it has become very technologically advanced and dependent. For example, cataract surgery forty years ago would have been done without the benefit and existence of technology. The surgical encounter would have lasted an hour, and the rehabilitation and recovery would be more gradual and prolonged over several weeks. With advancements in modern technology, the surgery is now typically 15-20 minutes in duration, and rehabilitation and recovery takes a few days. So modern technology now allows for shorter surgery time, the ability to do more surgical procedures in a given time frame by the surgeon, and easier and quicker visual recovery and rehabilitation for the patient.
KH: Is there anything in particular you would like the public to know about the services provided by BGH Eye Clinic?
MT: Actually, we just want everyone to know that we are here and available. We’ve been in existence for six years now, and I’m still constantly amazed at how many folks in the community still don’t know that we are here, and what we have to offer. We have patients tell us when they first come to see us, “I didn’t even know that we had ophthalmology at BGH and in Sandpoint!”
Kathy Hubbard was a charter member of Bonner General Health Foundation. She can be reached at [email protected]. This article was written for publication in the Bonner County Daily Bee on May 13, 2026.