AUSTIN ANIMAL EYE CLINIC

He always provides a great explanation that we can understand and really has our pets interest in mind. If you are looking for an eye specialist for your dog, please give him a try.

Living in San Marcos, for my 13-year old Shih-Tzu, I went to a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in San Antonio who recommended surgery for one eye (cataract), and eye removal for the other eye (glaucoma). I would have had no decision in the matter, once surgery had begun, as I had to sign a contract leaving the decision of eye removal up to the dr (at a cost of $2,250-$3,250, depending on which option he chose, once my doggie was under anesthesia for the cataract surgery). Although I understand the rationale, to do both procedures if all was going well, so as to not have to undergo surgery and anesthesia again, I was not feeling OK about the eye removal at all. There seemed to be no room for discussion, no options offered. This was an expensive specialist clinic (E. Sonterra Blvd)--over $600 for that one visit.
I sought another opinion. I saw Dr. Shifrin, also a Veterinary Ophthalmologist, whom I had seen back in 2010 for an immature cataract in the eye that now had glaucoma. Although I might have done surgery at that time, he did not recommend it, and convinced me that she had one good eye, and that if she started to have problems in that good eye, I could then return to discuss the options.
Now that the good eye is getting cloudy, and I had gotten the extreme and expensive option from the San Antonio dr, I went to Dr. Shifrin for a second opinion.
He did a thorough and exhaustive exam. Although he agreed in general with the diagnosis, his options were far less extreme. He told me, as the San Antonio dr did not, that she had only 10% cataract in that eye, and had quite a lot of vision (90%!) in that eye and, although she has no vision in the (glaucoma) eye, he gave me options for medications to preserve her vision in the cataract eye and increase the comfort of the glaucoma eye, thus preventing surgery. She is 13 years old, and the risk of something going wrong was acknowledged by both, but the San Antonio dr minimized it, merely covering his back by including it in the contract. He seemed less inclined to consider my wishes, and more inclined to proceed with a very expensive surgery. That reminds me of the maxim: most surgeons will opt to do what they have been trained for: surgery.
Dr. Shifrin, although stating that he was interested in making money as well, advised me to go the conservative route. I will give her drops for both eyes, continue to go for check-ups, and he will monitor her condition.
With the meds he prescribed (3 were the same, but different dosages, but the 4th, cataract Rx--was different), I noticed that her vision in the cataract eye seemed to respond to the Rx he gave her in his office, that I will now pick up at my pharmacy in San Marcos, and continue that treatment. He charged me $75 for that appointment (plus about $100 total for refills and the new med). I paid $300 at the San Antonio clinic for an exam (ERG) for which Dr. Shifrin charges $180.
I am much happier, and I believe my little pup is, too. I may have just delayed the inevitable surgery, but I have kept her able to run, walk, jump, bark at things in her environment, and not be in recovery from surgery for 6-8 weeks at great risk of complications. Her quality of life is maintained, without risking her life and the remaining sight she has left. If surgery is indicated at a later time, I will trust Dr. Shifrin to perform it.

I found Austin Animal Eye Clinic on Yelp (sorry Angie, you had no reviews for him!). Every review was a 5 star... hard to find in this day and age. I made an appointment to take Henry in to get an eye exam by an actual ophthalmologist rather than just his regular vet. He's had cataracts for a number of years now and we finally had the money to see what could be done about it.
On our first visit, Dr. Shifrin examined Henry's eyes and gave us the sad prognosis that it looked like he had some retinal degeneration that would make cataract surgery less than successful. As he couldn't be 100% positive since Henry's cataracts were so large they were blocking him from getting a good view of the back of the eye, we scheduled an ERG for the following week to get a final answer. During this visit, Dr. Shifrin went over how to handle living with a blind dog, or in our case one who was in the far stages of losing his vision. He explained what he saw in Henry's eyes and that they were most certainly genetic and were progressing the same in both eyes.
We went back in today for the ERG and as he had expected, the diagnosis was that the retina had degenerated to the point that cataract surgery would be a waste of money. He sat and talked with us for a little bit about it and how to deal with it going forward. We'll be back to see him in about 6 months for a checkup to make sure nothing is going wrong. We certainly want to catch anything that could cause Henry pain (glaucoma) with all the stress he will be going through as his vision declines.
I want to also mention that his receptionist/vet assistant is one of the most pleasant, caring ladies I have met in a long time. She came out and chatted with us while we were waiting for the Dr. to finish up with another patient to go over the results. She expressed her true sorrow that nothing could be done for Henry, though our purpose was to get an answer as we had already resolved ourselves to his losing his vision.
The last thing I want to mention is that Dr. Shifrin's prices are VERY reasonable. My mother's dog lost his eyesight to diabetes and she had to go through the same thing with an eye doctor in Connecticut. The price for the ERG test was more than 4x what Dr. Shifrin charged! So I know I got a great deal and on top of that I feel that he is doing this for the animals welfare and that is what matters most to him.