Ophthalmologist - Glaucoma Specialist

Dr. Mark J. Weiss joined The Eye Institute in 1986 and specialized in the treatment of glaucoma. He retired from seeing patients in Spring 2023 but continues to serve as President of The Eye Institute. In his career, he has had the pleasure of caring for so many patients in our community and is grateful they have trusted him with their Glaucoma care. The Eye Institute is fortunate to have such a wonderful, caring provider on our team.

Dr. Weiss, a native of Philadelphia, received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. He then completed his residency in ophthalmology at the University of Chicago Hospital. Following his residency, Dr. Weiss was awarded the prestigious Heed Fellowship in Glaucoma at Rush Medical College in Chicago.

After one year of specialty glaucoma training, Dr. Weiss began his private practice in Tulsa in 1976. He is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Although Dr. Weiss no longer sees patients, The Eye Institute has 2 Glaucoma specialists in our group. They are Madeleine Hasbrook, MD and Neha Sangal, MD and both are accepting patients. You can learn more about them on their provider profiles on this site and appointments can be made by calling 918-499-3937.

 

Interview with Mark Weiss, MD, President and newly retired Glaucoma Specialist with The Eye Institute

 

Hello Dr. Weiss,

• Tell us a little bit about yourself

I grew up in Philadelphia and trained at the University of Chicago. After I finish my first stage after medical school as an internship, during the Vietnam war, all doctors had to serve two years in the military. So, Vietnam was really raging when I finished in 1969. I got into the public Health service which counted as military service and was assigned to the Indian health in Claremore, at the Indian hospital. At the time, I didn’t even really know where Oklahoma was. We actually lived in Claremore for a while. It was so different. Then we moved into Tulsa and that worked better for us. Then we moved back to Chicago where I did my specialty training and fellowship. We were going to stay in Chicago, but things didn’t work out so we ended up back here. Practicing in Tulsa was so nice. I was less than a mile away from my house so I was at home every night with my wife and daughters and I was very active father.

My wife had a PhD in social work. Her mother was a lawyer and judge and our message to our girls was “you can’t depend on anyone but yourself. Have a career that is something meaningful, and that you can make a living from.”

• Can you share with me a memorable experience from you career?

Yes, I think one of the most memorable ones was a baby that had congenital glaucoma. 1 in 10,000 children are born with glaucoma. These are the kids that have these big eyes and usually a pediatrician makes the initial diagnosis. I operated on her as a baby and I continued to see here every year since. Two years ago, when she came in, I believe she was now 44 years old, she said to me “Dr. Weiss, there hasn’t been a year in my life that I haven’t seen you.” I was like “oh my God, she can see!” Sometimes they get severe glaucoma later on in life and are no longer able to see but she hadn’t. She actually texted me a while ago and said “we have these family dinners on Tuesdays and we would love for you to come to our home. My kids can even come and pick you up .” Those are the patients that better me because I am able to help them. You always remember the things that didn’t go well, but it’s good to remember the good things that you’ve done as well.

My daughter is an OB/GYN in New Orleans and I was talking to her the other day and I said “you know, you have a lot of partners in your practice but in your everyday life, It’s just you”.  All these years it’s just been me trying to do the right thing.

• Do you ever look back and think to yourself “I really accomplished a lot”

I think about how hard I just kept working until I was 80. I just stopped operating when I was 65, because of what I was doing and specializing in, which was surgery for glaucoma. I had seen doctors that went too long and should’ve stopped. I thought “this is a good time to stop”.

• What inspired you to pursue a career in ophthalmology?

Well, I was born with an orthopedic problem and had major surgery as a child. I was in a cast and crutches for a year. I felt like I should be an orthopedic surgeon but my senior year of medical school I met an ophthalmologist in Philadelphia. They had a big eye Institute there and he invited me to come watch him operate. He was a pediatric ophthalmologist. I watched him cutting and stitching this eye and I thought “oh my God, this is incredible!”. It seemed to me there were a lot of residents in training there and they all seem pretty happy;  I thought this is realistic and I could do this and still have a life and a family. That was really important to me. I knew I would be on call sometimes, but it was a more manageable career and specialty and that would allow me to be father and husband.

• What are some significant changes or advancements you’ve seen throughout your career

Oh, just using the microscope for surgery and the advances in different types of surgeries since my fellowship in Glaucoma; I spent an extra year in training and a lot has change. The advancements, medication and eye drops and the use of lasers for treatment of glaucoma. I was actually the first physicians in this part of the state to use a laser for a certain type of glaucoma. Another thing I have done in my career was started conducting drug trials and doing drug research for drug companies. This allowed me to continue to practice even when I wasn’t doing surgery anymore. I was able to still make a real difference in the treatment of Glaucoma.

Glaucoma often doesn’t have any symptoms. If you’re feeling symptoms, then you’re in trouble and need to get to the hospital. I’ve operated on children, teenagers and adults that have glaucoma and it’s a complicated disease process.

• What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start a career in the eyecare field?

Going to medical school and becoming a doctor is such a rewarding career. It takes forever, but what else have you got to do. My specialty is definitely very rewarding and would be a great career choice.

• There doesn’t seem to be a lot of glaucoma specialist in this area.

No, there aren’t. In my group practice, we hired two female glaucoma specialists. I was worried about what would I do for my patients so as I was kind of starting to go out of practice, I would tell my patients “I’m going to be retiring so let’s set you up for your next appointment with one of our new glaucoma specialists.” I just wanted to make sure the transition was smooth and referred to someone I knew was competent.

My office was fairly unique. I had people that work for me for many years. I felt very strongly about being on time and not keeping patients waiting very long. It was important that the patient saw familiar faces and that people were nice to them when they came in for an appointment. The office itself was very interesting. I had great artwork and magazines. I never had a phone in my office because I didn’t want to be disturbed. Of course, cell phones made that different, but I just wanted to be totally focused..

• What were you miss most about practicing medicine in the eyecare field?

I will miss the patients. I had great patients! I will miss my staff. We were all very close and had people that worked for me for over 35 years. The one that worked for me the least amount of time worked for me 14 or 15 years. We all got along well. There was no backstabbing or politics. Everybody just came in and did their job and that’s pretty remarkable!

• Looking back on your career what is something you wish you would’ve known before you started practicing

It may be scary at times but you just have to step out and do what is right. I had worked with someone that I just wasn’t compatible with and even though I was scared, I went out on my own and it was the right thing to do.

• How do you plan on staying connected to the Field of Eyecare in retirement?

I still read the journals and the Glaucoma Society has a peer group that I am involved it. It allows other glaucoma specialists around the country to give advice and mentor each other.

• Are there any particular contributions or any specific accomplishments you are particularly proud of

I Introduced specialty care in this part of the state. To be able to provide that kind of care no one else was really providing except another doctor in Oklahoma City. I had a good relationship with a specialist in Oklahoma City at Dean McGee and we worked well together.

Other accomplishments were laser treatments, using chemicals along with lasers to make them work better, being involved with drug trials and just taking really good care of my patients.

We had an employee in the office that would help recruit patients that could benefit from the drug trials and these patients knew and trusted me which allowed  the opportunity to do the studies. I also volunteered at the Tulsa Day Center, treating patients there, have donated a lot of services over the years and have been happy to help patients in any way possible with the Glaucoma care.

• How do you feel the future of care will continue to evolve?

I don’t know if this will happen but If you could replace genes, you could eliminate disease- we’re just not there yet.

• Last question! What does retirement look like for you?

Well, I’ve already been pretty busy.  I went to Africa and had a wonderful time. I traveled to Israel a couple of years ago. I’m still working here at The Eye Institute in the administration office, part-time, helping with chart audits and various other tasks.  I try to keep fit by working with a trainer and swimming. I’m also looking forward to a trip to Morocco for the Fall.

All in all, I love what I did. It was really important to me, but the most important thing in my life has been being a good father. I have a good relationship with my daughters and they are very good women and they care a lot about me.

Dr. Weiss, thank you for all of your many years and immeasurable contribution you have made to The Eye Institute, your patients and our community. You are loved and appreciated