Meet our Doctors

Samuel N. Garrett, MD

Dr. Garrett is a native of Princess Anne County, which eventually became our current Virginia Beach. He was born at the old Leigh Memorial Hospital on Mowbray Arch in Norfolk, which was converted into the first academic building for Eastern Virginia Medical School - of which he is an alumnus and Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Garrett was trained in family medicine in Tacoma, Washington before completing his ophthalmology residency. His eye training was performed mainly in San Francisco, including Letterman Army Medical Center, University of California-San Francisco, and Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center. He also spent several months in Honolulu, Hawaii at Tripler Army Medical Center and at Colby College in Waterville, Maine under the auspices of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School. He also trained at Duke University Eye Center in plastic surgery of the eyelids. As a former major in the U.S. Army, he completed tours of duty in Seoul, South Korea as well as Fayetteville, North Carolina. During that time, he helped train the ophthalmology residents at UNC-Chapel Hill where he was Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology.

Upon receiving his honorable discharge from the Army, Dr. Garrett returned home in 1990 to establish the premier eye care practice, Virginia Beach Eye Surgery. In addition to his busy practice, he is a leader in the local medical community, being a voting delegate to the Medical Society of Virginia and President Elect of the Virginia Beach Medical Society. He is team eye surgeon for the Hampton Roads Admirals hockey team. Dr. Garrett is published in major ophthalmic journals such as Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, and the Surgical Forum of The American College of Surgeons. He has given many presentations at national eye meetings and participated in FDA trials of laser vision correction.

Dr. Garrett lives in Virginia Beach with his wife Nancy, son Mike, and daughter Allison. His outside interests includetennis, water sports, mountain biking, snow skiing, and travel. He is a member of Baylake United Methodist Church. He serves the community by treating the homeless and indigent both through the church and the Beach Health Clinic. He participates with Mission Cataract USA, operating on patients who cannot afford sight saving surgery.

Michael Shane Swatts, OD

Dr. Swatts has had extensive clinical, professional and research experience in the optometric field. His doctoral degree from Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Dr. Swatts also did his graduate studies in pharmacology and toxicology there. His undergraduate work was done at West Virginia University.

As an optometrist with The Vision and Conceptual Development Center in Washington, D.C., Dr. Swatts was responsible for diagnosis and management of ocular and conceptual developmental disorders. This involved conceptual and ocular testing as well as visuo-cognitive therapy with children and adults, learning disabled, and traumatic brain injury. He is also specialized in the treatment and management of common pediatric binocular conditions.

His experience includes work with the National Football League in Indianapolis, IN. Dr. Swatts performed vision and conceptual screenings on potential recruits, including visual thinking, visual logic, ocular sensorimotor, as well as visually guided movement. His ventures into sports expanded with the Wolverhampton Wolves, a professional soccer team in Wolverhampton, England. Dr. Swatts has been in Hampton Roads since 2001 where his practice focused on primary care, specialty contact lenses and vision therapy. He is active in community outreach and the local school systems.

Dr. Swatts’ professional memberships include: Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity; Tidewater Optometric Society; Virginia Optometric Association; International Academy of Sports ;Vision; American Academy of Optometry; College of Optometrists in Vision Development and the American Optometric Association.

Meet Our Staff