DRS - Key Persons
"Just knowing the folks at Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor & Haun and seeing how communal, helpful, and efficient everyone is, there are just a lot of things about the practice that I love. I knew pretty much from the moment I went into Ophthalmology that this is what I hoped for."
Dr. Tobin Taylor has been doing a lot of good over the past 14 years-as an Ophthalmologist with Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor and Haun. Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, Dr. Taylor specializes in Cataract and Anterior Segment Microsurgery; Glaucoma and Diabetic Eye Disease Management; Medical Retina; Eyelid Plastic and Lacrimal Surgery; and Neuro-Ophthalmology. Today he uses his practice to improve the lives of his patients, but he actually began serving the needs of others at a very early age.
In fact, growing up near Austin, Texas, it was clear to those around him that Tobin "Toby" Taylor was heading for a lifetime of caring for those in need.
Folks could see it in the way he dutifully looked after his mother who was in and out of the hospital with chronic health issues. It was that unmistakably generous spirit (and perhaps his size and strength)that led his fourth grade teacher to choose Toby as the unofficial caregiver of a classmate who suffered from Muscular Dystrophy. "I helped him everywhere: from the car, to class, to the bathroom, to the playground," says Taylor. "I was later asked to help a couple of other physically challenged classmates. You might say I became ‘the school orderly' because I was usually the guy who transported the kids with disabilities." Young Toby was happy to be in a position to help.
After a brief stint practicing in Arkansas, a fondness for the area brought Dr. Taylor and his family to the mountains of East Tennessee in 1998. Today, Dr. Taylor commonly treats patients for age-related eye disease and other general Ophthalmological disorders. He performs Cataract Microsurgery and treats patients for a variety of eye diseases like Glaucoma and Dry Eyes, as well as those related to his subspecialties of Cosmetic Eye Surgery and Neuro-Ophthalmology.
One of his own skill sets Dr. McMillin recognized early on was his talent for tinkering. "Our family grew up working on thirty acres in East Tennessee, so there was always something mechanical that needed repairing, like tractors and four-wheelers," he adds. Understanding how mechanical things worked, tearing them apart, repairing them and restoring their function became a real passion for the future physician.
"My dad noticed these talents and encouraged me that if I was interested in Optometry and I liked working with my hands, Ophthalmology might be a natural fit for me," he admits. "The integration of medicine and cutting edge technology was a perfect career path for me. Ophthalmic surgery melded my academic interests with the simple fact that I liked to fix things," he explains.
To pursue his interest in medicine and technology, Dr. McMillin attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science - which, he says, is really an applied physiology degree. He had played football (tailback and strong safety) all the way through high school, incorporating weight training and running into his workouts, so his undergraduate degree was a natural bridge to medicine.
Undergraduate school was also where he met his wife, who earned her nursing degree and then practiced in her field to help support their growing family through his medical school, residency and fellowship. He was so happy at USC he stayed there to earn his Doctor of Medicine, magna cum laude, in the University's School of Medicine.
"I really enjoyed studying the functional aspects of the body, so surgery was a real draw for me. But the most compelling attraction to Ophthalmology is the opportunity to restore function. Restoration doesn't always happen in medicine," he states. "Typically, medicine can manage disease and slow processes down, but it may not be able to reverse disease or injury. I believe that in Ophthalmology, we have an opportunity in many cases to restore function, and often, in a surgical procedure as short as fifteen minutes."
After finishing a Transitional Internship at The Colorado Health Foundation with the Presbyterian Saint Luke's Hospital in Denver, he returned to South Carolina for a residency at the Storm Eye Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He followed that with a one-year Cornea, Refractive and Anterior Segment Surgery fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. It was here that he trained under some of the world's leading experts in cataract, cornea, and refractive surgery.
A large part of his practice at Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor and Haun is general Ophthalmology, however Dr. McMillin, also specializes in management of corneal disease and cornea surgery including corneal transplant and laser refractive surgery. Initially drawn to cornea disease because corneal blindness is often times reversible, Dr. McMillin continues to be amazed at the micro-invasive techniques used in his field.
"In the past fifteen years the field of cornea transplantation has been revolutionized, with modern corneal transplant procedures we are able to selectively transplant layers as thin as fifteen microns, all under local anesthesia. Recovery is now a couple of weeks, instead of a year or more. Giving patients back excellent vision with a corneal transplant is incredibly gratifying," he explains.
As far as the future of his specialty, Dr. McMillin would like to see the day surgeons no longer perform transplants. With new research, he believes, injecting cultured corneal endothelial cells can cure many of the diseases requiring cornea surgery. This forward-thinking approach to eye care is one of the many reasons he joined Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor and Haun. "Our leadership team is committed to investing in technology and providing the most advanced surgical procedures for our patients."
Dr. McMillin appreciates how down to earth, pragmatic and easy to talk to all the partners are. "Having access to medical professionals in our practice who have specialized knowledge of unique areas of the eye is such an advantage. Being able to have a curbside consult with colleagues in the middle of the day, while focused on a specific patient case, is so beneficial for our patients, in terms of care and convenience," he states.
Matthew M. Cole, M.D., is passionate about his career as a Retina Specialist. And he is excited about the emerging technologies in the treatment of diseases of the retina. He admits it was the rapidly developing advancements in the field that drew him to a career in Ophthalmology.
Dr. Cole joins the practice of Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor & Haun as Retina Specialist after finishing his residency at the University of Kentucky Medical Center and completing a year-long Retina Fellowship at UK.
"The subspecialty of retina is particularly exciting to me," says Dr. Cole. "You're always working on the edge of technology and it's great to know that there are even more innovative treatments coming in the future."
"The fear of losing eyesight for many is a day-to-day burden," he adds. "As a Retina Specialist, I enjoy being able to help calm the fears of my patients which is certainly appealing. Helping their quality of life is what drives me to do my very best every time I visit with a patient."
Dr. Cole grew up as the son of a Pulmonologist who was very popular with his patients. The younger Dr. Cole hoped to make a similar connection with his own patients. This, he recognized early on, is crucial to the quality of care he can provide and, potentially, the outcomes achieved.
"My philosophy is to treat patients as I would someone in my own family," he says. "Most importantly, I constantly strive to better listen to what my patients have to say and help create a healthy dialogue. I truly believe that this helps patients become more comfortable with the decisions they make moving forward in their treatment."
A native of Johnson City, Tennessee, Dr. Cole received his Bachelor's degree from the University of the South. He received his M.D. from East Tennessee State University. He then completed his Internship, Residency and Medical Retina Fellowship at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
While working and studying in Lexington, Dr. Cole met his wife, Christa. She also works in the field of eye care as a Doctor of Optometry. They were married in 2011. As an East Tennessee native, Cole developed a love for the mountains and enjoys hiking, fishing and camping during his free time.