Meet the HCC’s new doctors
by C.J. Blomquist
OptumCare
The Health Care Center welcomes Drs.AjayManchandiaand CarlosMartineztoitsophthalmology team. Both doctors believe that each patient deserves his or her own approach. “My philosophy to eye care includes a patientcentric approach and to care for each patient as if I were caring for myownfamily,”Manchandiasaid.
Martinezagreed.“Ialwayslike tothinkaboutwhatIwoulddofor my mother if my mother was sitting in the patient’s chair,” he said. “However,Ineverrevealthatuntil mypatientexpressestheirwishes. I believe in empowering patients to make their own decisions.”
Manchandia is fluent in English, Hindi and medical Spanish, while Martinez is fluent in English and Spanish. Both are available for new patients by calling (562)493-9581.Below,theyshare more details about themselves.
LW Weekly: Where did you grow up? Dr. Ajay Manchandia: I grew up in Southern California.
Dr. Carlos Martinez: My life has been an incredible journey. I was born in Cuba. I left Cuba for Spain at the age of 5. I lived in Spain for three years and moved to Puerto Rico. Eventually, I moved to New Orleans, where I lived for 15 years pursuing my career in ophthalmology. Why did you pursue this specialty? Manchandia: Ophthalmology is a good balance of clinical and surgical medicine, and an ophthalmologist who provides good medical and surgical care can hugely impact a patient’s quality of life in the long-term. Martinez: I fell in love with ophthalmology after two weeks of doing it. I had done an extensive amount of research in neurosurgery and thought that’s where my heart was, but the first time I took a patch off a patient who had had cataract surgery and the patient cried because he had not been able to see for years, I decided I wanted to do nothing else but ophthalmology.
Where did you go for school? Manchandia: I graduated from UC Berkeley, and then went on to medicalschoolatDrexelUniversity College of Medicine. I completed myinternshipininternalmedicine at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and my ophthalmology residency at Temple University. Then, I moved back to Southern California for additional training asapediatricophthalmologistand strabismussurgeonattheSteinEye Institute at UCLA. Martinez: I received my undergraduate degree and master’s in theoretical chemical physics from Tulane University. After that, I went to medical school and pursued an internship in internal medicine and ophthalmology at Louisiana State University (LSU) in New Orleans. At the time, the LSU Eye Center was recognized worldwide as one of the best training institutions in the world. Ihadthepleasureofworkingwith incredible people, including the first person to discover the first antiviral cornea-preservation solutions, the first person to do laser vision correction in the world and show that it worked, and some incredible cataract and glaucoma specialists. What do you like to do outside the office? Manchandia: My hobbies include astronomy, photography, skiing, hiking, playing tennis and world travel. Dr. Carlos Martinez: I enjoy spending time with my two sons and playing basketball and volleyball, especially beach volleyball. I also collect ophthalmological antiques.
