Brief History

The Shettle Eye Center

The Shettle Eye Center was founded in 1972 by the father of the family, Philip L. Shettle, D.O., a board certified ophthalmologist. He was one of the first ophthalmologists to establish his practice in Pinellas County, providing expert eye care at the same location since 1972. Dr. Philip Shettle built his practice on the philosophy of providing personal and friendly eye care to each individual patient in a relaxed atmosphere using state of the art equipment.

His son, Lee Shettle, D.O., also a board certified ophthalmologist, joined the practice in 1994, bringing with him current knowledge in advanced cataract and refractive eye surgeries. After finishing a residency in Ophthalmology at the Detroit Osteopathic Ophthalmology Consortium, Dr. Lee Shettle completed a one-year Clinical Fellowship in Advanced Cataract and Refractive Surgery in Denver, Colorado. This extensive training provides him with the advantage of being very proficient in the precise procedures of cataract and refractive surgery. Additionally, Dr. Lee Shettle spent a year studying Neuro-Ophthalmology at Michigan State University, giving him the knowledge and ability to diagnose and educate patients with stroke-related eye conditions, double vision and loss of vision. He also personally performs comprehensive eye exams for dry eye syndrome, glacoma, cataract and macular degeneration.

The same year, Dr. Philip Shettle's middle son, D. Scott Shettle, O.D. a board certified optometrist, joined the practice to add his special areas of expertise. His youngest son, Todd Shettle, O.D., joined the practice in 1994 uniting the family of eye care professionals in their shared desire to offer the most personalized, complete and skilled eye care possible. Shettle Optical Solutions also provides quality frames and lenses for all ages, in all price ranges, conveniently located on site.

Dr. Lee Shettle, Dr. Scott Shettle and Dr. Todd Shettle take great pride in maintaining the respected reputation of their father. "We pride ourselves in treating each patient like one of our own family," emphasizes Dr. Lee Shettle. "As many as 75% of our patients come to us from patient referrals."

The combined strengths brought to the practice by his sons, has given Dr. Philip Shettle some additional time and freedom to expand his leadership skills and knowledge for the benefit of his profession and community. The name "Shettle" is well-known in eye care, both locally and nationally.

The Shettle Eye Center was awarded the Best Ophthalmology practice by the Florida Medical Business Magazine in 2000.