About Dr. Estes

    I am a native Nashvillian. Following graduation from Battle Ground Academy in 1968, I left the area for college and medical training. I majored in electrical engineering at Stanford University, graduating with distinction in 1972 and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi honorary academic societies. I graduated from UCLA School of Medicine in 1976 and was named to the Alpha Omega Alpha honorary academic society. Following internship at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, I completed ophthalmology residency training at the University of Michigan in 1981 under the direction of Dr. Paul Lichter. Fellowship training in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus was completed in 1982 at Indiana University under the direction of Dr. Eugene Helveston and Dr. Forrest Ellis. I was certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology in December, 1982. I have been in private practice here in Nashville since 1982, initially near Centennial Medical Center and since September, 1998, at the current location near Baptist Hospital. During this time span, I have evaluated over 25,000 individual patients and performed over 5,000 eye operations, largely strabismus procedures involving re-positioning eye muscles to improve ocular alignment and binocular function.

    I am an associate professor in the Ophthalmology Department at Vanderbilt, having joined the staff in 2006 after 24 years of private practice in Nashville. I greatly enjoy teaching and was honored with faculty Resident Education Awards in 1999, 2002, and 2006. I served as Chief of the Ophthalmology Department at Baptist Hospital from 1987 until 1990. I belong to several medical associations including the AMA, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Tennessee Pediatric Society.

    I have interests in computer technology dating to undergraduate years in engineering school at Stanford. I have programmed the electronic medical record input form for use with Vanderbilt's StarPanel which allows secure access to clinical information from any of our locations. I have taught computer programming courses to other physicians locally and at the American Academy of Ophthalmology. I serve on two technology-related committees for the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the Internet and Education Committee (current Chair) the Public Information Committee (website liason).

    Cassandra and I married in 1973. We have two boys, Daniel, born in 1980, and Jonathan, born in 1983. Daniel graduated from Stanford in 2003 and is currently close to completing a PhD in biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan. Jonathan recently graduated from the University of Miami, double-majoring in music performance and English. He has moved to New York City to pursue a professional music career. We enjoy a round of golf occasionally and work in our yard and garden year-round. Jonathan is a talented bass and keyboard player who performs with several well-known jazz and popular music groups. We actively support the Nashville Symphony and Nashville Opera.

Estes RL, Sandall, G Martonyi, J: Congenital rotary nystagmus associated with head turning: successful surgical management. Ophthalmic Surgery 12:834 (1981).

Estes RL, Sugar A: Knot integrity of coated synthetic absorbable sutures used for extraocular muscle surgery in a rabbit model. Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus 19:25 (1982).

Estes RL: Ophthalmology manpower distribution. Resident Applicant Manual, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 1982.

Helveston, Weber, Miller, Robertson, Hohberger, Estes, Ellis, Pick, Helveston: Visual function and academic performance. American Journal of Ophthalmology 99:346-55 (1985).

Estes RL, Besharian C, Lipson P, Petcu D, Phillips D, Tucker W: Laryngeal mask anesthesia for pediatric ophthalmic and adult strabismus surgery. American Orthoptic Journal 48:112 (1998).

Estes RL, Estes D, West C, Zobal-Ratner J, Droste P, Simon J: The American Association for Pediatric Ophthamology and Strabismus workforce distribution project. Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthamology and Strabismus 11:325-329 (2007).