Our most recent "Get To Know" (GTK) session with VisionAmerica's doctors took us to Mr. P's Deli where we sat down with Dr. Dale Brown. We covered his background, surgical preferences and, if you read on, he will tell you where you can find the BEST Mexican food around. Check out our GTK session with Dr. Brown below. Where are you from?
I'm from a community just outside of Birmingham called Pleasant Grove. That's where I was born and raised. I have an older sister and a younger brother. Where did you go to college? I received my undergraduate degree from UAB and then went to Alabama for a year and earned a Master's in health science. Then I came back to UAB for medical school. I did a year of transitional medicine at Princeton Healthcare Services and Montclair Medical Clinics, which is now Brookwood Baptist. Then I went to Baltimore, Maryland, to the University of Maryland where I completed my ophthalmology residency. Following my time in Baltimore, I went to Memphis and completed a two-year vitreoretinal fellowship at the Vitreoretinal Foundation. And you played football at UAB, correct? Yeah, I played football for four years at UAB, which was fun. It was interesting because it was a different time then. We were Division 1-AA my first year and my second year we transitioned to Division 1-A. We were the first team to do that and it was exciting. That was in 1996. We played Auburn our first game. How did that go? They beat us 29-0. But we fumbled three times in the red zone or something like that. It was fun playing there. They realized that, now that they had you on the team, they could move up and play the bigger teams? (Laughs) Yeah. It was 9-0 at halftime. Our defense did pretty well but we couldn't get anything going. What position did you play? Left guard. Were there any takeaways from football that you can apply to ophthalmology? Yeah. It teaches discipline. It teaches you that when you're tired or sick or, you know, especially at the end of the day when you want to go home and you get called in to do a case or do something... it's kind of like the fourth quarter because you're tired and you want to go home, but you have to keep fighting through it. Coach Brown always said, "Football will prepare you for life," and I think that's true. What made you choose retina? Well, my mother worked in the operating rooms at the Eye Foundation and was involved in a lot of retina cases so I was exposed to it through her. I kind of thought that's all eye surgery was because I used to shadow them. I didn't know a lot about cataracts because she did not work as much in those areas. I just saw a few surgeries and got interested in it through her. What are some of the things you enjoy about it? Retinal conditions like detachments can be visually devastating, so I enjoy being able to help restore their vision. Is there an interesting case you've had recently that stands out? A lot of the cases that I find interesting are usually something like intermediate uveitis. You send off all the tests for Lyme disease, TB, etc., but you usually don't get a diagnosis. I had one recently that came back positive for Lyme disease, which hasn't always been that prevalent around here, but it's becoming more common. That was an early diagnosis because she had no symptoms. She didn't have a rash, or at least you couldn't see the rash, but we were able to treat her with an antibiotic. That was pretty cool. Tell us about your family. I have a wife, two sons and a daughter. My oldest son is seven, my middle son is five and my daughter is three. How long have you been with VisionAmerica? Four years this November. What are the big family activities you guys do? Most of the stuff we do is through our church, Valleydale Baptist. We play basketball in November. My parents live in Pleasant Grove and we try to do a lot with them as well. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I love going to UAB football games. Ok, so what did you do last year in your free time? I watched college football. That's a good question. I don't really remember life before kids... We live season to season in sports. In the Spring it will be baseball. My daughter is starting to get into dance now, too. What is one thing that most people probably don't know about you? Back in my old church growing up, I was a deacon for the church. I was a deacon at Cottage Hill Baptist Church when I was 20. What are the cases you enjoy doing? There are a lot of them, actually. I like membrane peels and macular hole repairs. What is your tolerance for doing a membrane peel? Is there a certain level of acuity or functional impairment? It's all about if it bothers the patient or not. It isn't going to do irreversible damage if you leave it there unless it's really distorting the fovea. You can see really bad ones that are thick and we go ahead and remove those. But if it's just sitting there on the retina and they are 20/40 or 20/50 and they didn't even know they had a problem, I always just watch it. I'm not aggressive. The alternative is if they have 20/25 and say they have a distortion that's bothering them, I tell them that we can help them by removing it. Distortion is one of the main things we can help with. What is your take on vitrectomies for floaters? I'm conservative on those, but I've done more recently. Most people have floaters but do not want surgery. But if you are, say, a bus driver, and when you're driving it can block the side of the road or, if it's big enough, block your entire left or right side, yeah, we'll do it. But if it's just here and there and looks like a gnat, I would say don't do it. I give the patient the risks prior to the surgery and let them make the choice, but many patients who have the surgery are very happy afterward. What's your favorite type of food? Mexican. Where can you find the best Mexican? Are you a fajita guy? Albertville has a good place. I like quesadillas. I grade a Mexican restaurant on their quesadillas and their nachos. So the one in Albertville is the best? Must be authentic... It's good. I love their chips. They are not thin and I didn't like them at first, but they grow on you. Now, when we go to the clinic in Albertville, that's where we eat. What's it called? Um... Something Sol. Chicken of the Sun. No. It's El Sol King Pollo. So, King Chicken of the Sun. The mascot there is a chicken with a crown on and a cape. But it's good... Have you read any interesting books lately or have a favorite TV show? I just watch sports and news. I'm an old man. I did see a new show recently called "The Good Doctor". It was good. The storyline is that there is a high-functioning, autistic doctor who is brilliant. There is obviously a backstory there, too, with his family. But then there is an older family friend who is the head of the department. The autistic doctor is the surgical resident. I don't think he had other chances for residency at other programs. It's a cool show. We hope you enjoyed this brief GTK with Dr. Brown. If you have any questions you would like us to ask in our next session, send them our way!
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