I was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana where I attended the local public schools and was accepted to the Louisiana State University system prematriculation program for college and medical school which meant that before graduating high school I was accepted to both college, LSU-Shreveport, and medical school at LSU Health Science Center in Shreveport. While in both high school and college I was a student athletic trainer helping in both football, baseball and basketball. I obtained a BS in Biology in 1998 from LSU-S and then my MD from LSUHSC in 2002. During medical school I was elected to the junior AOA honor society which is given to the top 5% of the medical school class.

Having done a lot of previous work with orthopedic doctors in the athletic world I considered a career in this field, but while on the ophthalmology rotation in medical school I fell in love with the speciality. After completing an internship in internal medicine at LSUHSC-S I went on to complete a residency in ophthalmology at LSUHSC-S, including serving as chief resident during that time. I then traveled to what I considered the frozen north, Detroit, Michigan to spend a year doing an oculoplastic/neuro-ophthalmology fellowship under Dr. Thomas Spoor, a pioneer in both fields. After completing all my training, I practiced in Chattanooga, Tennessee in private practice. I became board certified in ophthalmology in 2008. I joined Sarasota Retina Institute in the summer of 2011.

I specialize in both neuro-ophthalmology and oculoplastic surgery. I gave up cataract, refractive and glaucoma treatments to focus on these wonderful fields. The neuro part is a challenge to work with patients who often have not gotten help elsewhere and come in with a variety of problems that dramatically affect their lives. I get joy helping people understand what is going on in complicated situations by taking the time to explain it until the patient has a clear understanding of the condition. The oculoplastic part is wonderful in taking a very important area of the body (the eyes and surrounding area) and working with it to make it function correctly, remove lesions/cancers and rebuild damaged areas.I have a particular interest in the causes of dry eyes and tearing.

Some of the services I offer include:

• Eyelid surgery for droopy or sagging eyelids
• Eyelid surgery for cancer lesions
• Cosmetic eye lid surgery
• Reconstructive eyelid surgery after trauma or cancer removal
• Orbital surgery
• Dry eye problems
• Tearing problems
• Diagnosis and treatment of double vision both surgical and nonsurgical
• Diagnosis and treatment of optic nerve problems
• Giant cell arteritis diagnosis and treatment
• Treatment of optic nerve disease associated with peudotumor cerebri
• Diagnosis and treatments of how strokes affect the eye

My love of sailing, road biking, and the warmer weather have made the Sarasota community a wonderful fit for my family. I am married to Angela Abrams and we have 4 wonderful children. The kids are up and coming sailors in the catamaran world and the whole family enjoys time on the water. When not enjoying the wonderful Florida outdoors, the yell of GEAUX Tigerscan often be heard at the Abrams household cheering on LSU. The Sarasota weather and community have been a wonderful fit for both my family and I.

I look forward to helping you with your neuro-ophthalmologic or oculoplastic problems.