Eye doctor office heals up, re-opens

Business has been brisk since The Children’s Eye Doctors, The Family Eye Doctors and Woodlawn Optical re-opened last month in a bright and shiny new office suite at 17130 Avondale Way in Redmond.

A suspicious and unresolved fire had destroyed the jointly owned eye care businesses last April 2.

But owner Dr. Thomas Lenart and his staff are moving onward and upward, assisting infants to adults with any and every vision need.

Lenart is an opthamologist and surgeon, who specializes in treating strabismus, a visual defect in which the eyes are misaligned and point in different directions. Dr. Karen Sahota works closely with him in the younger children’s component of the clinic.

Dr. Autumn Mantel sees older kids, teens and adults. And Diane Charles runs the optical shop, selling eyeglass frames and lenses to clients of all ages.

Collectively, they especially cater to children’s needs, such as pinpointing vision problems that aren’t identified in school screenings or treating amblyopia, which is weaker vision in one eye.

Sahota noted that schools don’t check kids’ close-up vision, only their distance vision. If kids are complaining of frequent headaches, it might not be a result of sinus trouble. It could be their vision that is bothering them.

“Most kids don’t have eye exams until school age, when they start to do a lot of reading. But kids should have an eye exam by age three,” said Sahota.

Or if there is a history of vision problems in the family, an earlier exam may be warranted, said Sylvia Lenart, who is Thomas’ wife and office manager.

In addition to diagnostic services, Dr. Lenart and his staff strive to make sure children’s frames are properly fitted. Vision can’t be corrected when the glasses are drooping down or falling off.

All lenses sold at Woodlawn Optical are scratch-resistant and Charles can describe a full range of additional safety features to concerned moms and dads. Warranties are available, as well, because “kids are kids and glasses do get broken,” she said.

One thing parents don’t always comprehend is that wearing glasses is no longer considered a big deal for most kids. According to Charles, youngsters want frames in bright colors and their parents try to talk them into something unobtrusive, a throwback to the negative stereotypes from their childhood days. Green is a very popular color for kids’ frames right now, she noted.

For information about the Children’s Eye Doctors and The Family Eye Doctors, call (425) 885-6600. For information about Woodlawn Optical, call (425) 885-7028.

Contact Redmond Reporter Reporter Mary Stevens Decker at mdecker@redmond-reporter.com or (425) 867-0353, ext. 5052.

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