Dr. Cole is an ophthalmologist who describes ophthalmology as prevention and treatment of diseases of the eye. Treatment may include medicine or surgery. Small incision cataract surgery is a new treatment Dr. Cole has incorporated into his practice.

Dr. Cole graduated as class Salutatorian from W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi. He earned his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and received his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1965.

Upon completion of his medical degree, Dr. Cole completed an internship at the University of Missouri Medical Center in Columbia in 1966. Prior to his residency, Dr. Cole served in the U.S. Army for two years and received an honorable discharge. His residency in ophthalmology, which he completed in 1971, was at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

In 1973, Dr. Cole is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. He continues his education with regular attendance at the meetings of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and other medical societies.

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Dr. Pickett is a board-certified ophthalmologist who has been practicing general ophthalmology in San Marcos since 1986. He was born in Oklahoma but has lived most of his life in Texas.

For his undergraduate degree, Dr. Pickett graduated with honors from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston.

Upon completion of his medical degree, Dr. Pickett spent a one-year internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston. He served his three-year ophthalmology residency at the University of Texas Medical School in San Antonio.

Dr. Pickett is committed to providing his patients with the most advanced surgical, laser, and medical technologies available for the treatment of eye diseases. This requires attending frequent continuing medical education seminars and courses.

Dr. Pickett sees patients in his San Marcos office Monday through Friday and in Wimberley one afternoon a week at the Wimberley Eye Associates’ office.

Dr. Pickett lives in San Marcos with his wife, Claire, and their three daughters. He is active in his local church. In his spare time, he enjoys many outdoor activities, especially snow skiing and horseback riding.

Dr. Thorne is a board-certified ophthalmologist (MD eye physician and surgeon). He has been in practice in Austin, Texas for 20 years.

Dr. Thorne is one of the most respected physicians in his community, serving as a consultant and teaching surgical technique to many of his collegues. He is the president of the Texas Ophthalmological Association and chairman of the Practice Management Committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He has been department chairman at two hospitals and served on many local, state and national committees.

He has performed several thousand eye surgery cases, including well over 1,000 Lasik procedures. In 1987, he began performing RK. In 1989, he performed his first Excimer Laser PRK, making him one of the first in the United States to do so. In 1994, he performed his first Lasiks while studying with Wendel Wong, MD at the Natural Sight Vision Center in California, from which he received a letter of fellowship training. Dr. Thorne studied and operated at the Natural Sight Center for more than two years.

Dr. Thorne has performed LASIK in the Dominican Republic on patients who were indigent, markedly improving the quality of their lives. He has been on many medical missionary projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, helping to restore sight to many deserving but financially deprived people.

Each physician has her/his own style of practice. Dr. Thorne likes to know his patients, and most of his new patients are friends or relatives of current patients. He provides expert care for his patients, whether they need Lasik, cataract surgery, glaucoma treatment or other specialized care.

1981-Current Private Practice, Austin, Texas
1994-96 Natural Sight Center, Private Lasik Fellowship
1980-81 Cornea and External Disease Fellowship, UCSF
1977-80 Ophthalmology Residency, University of Texas Houston
1972-76 M.D., University of Texas, San Antonio
1968-72 Undergraduate degree, University of Texas, Austin

Dr. Welch is a board-eligible ophthalmologist who has been practicing general ophthalmology in San Marcos since 2008.

Dr. Welch was born and raised in Longview, Texas. He received his undergraduate degree with high honors in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. After a one year internship in Austin at Brackenridge Hospital, he completed his three year ophthalmology residency at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

Dr. Welch sees patients in the San Marcos office Monday through Friday and in Wimberley one half day per week. He is committed to providing the most advanced medical care to his patients, and his interests include cataract evaluation and treatment, glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and comprehensive ophthalmology. He specializes in no stitch cataract surgery, including astigmatism correcting lenses and multifocal intraocular lenses.

During his free time, Dr. Welch enjoys traveling, snow boarding and mountain bike riding.