Frequently Asked Questions

Sequoia Eye Group is located at 162 Clinton Street, Redwood City, CA 94062, on the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula. We care for patients from Redwood City, San Carlos, Belmont, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Atherton, Woodside, San Mateo, Foster City and nearby communities. See the map and directions.

Sequoia Eye Group and the practices before it have cared for patients on the Bay Area Peninsula for over 70 years, through four generations of ophthalmologists.

We are open Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, by appointment. Call (650) 839-2020 to check availability.

Call or text (650) 839-2020, email reception@sequoiaeyegroup.com, or send a request from our Contact page. A real person on our team answers and will find you a time.

Yes. We hold appointments every day for urgent eye problems, doctor referrals and same day visits. Call (650) 839-2020 right away if you have new flashes of light, a sudden shower of floaters, a curtain or shadow over your vision, sudden vision loss, a painful red eye, a chemical splash, or any problem after eye surgery. For a serious injury, or vision loss with stroke symptoms such as face drooping or arm weakness, call 911.

Usually not. Most patients can book with us directly. Because several of our doctors are subspecialists, some specialty visits are scheduled after a visit with one of our own doctors. If that applies to you, we take care of it within our office, so there is nothing extra for you to arrange. Separately, HMO, IPA and some military plans may need a referral or authorization from your primary care doctor, so tell us your plan when you call and we will check.

After our office gives you a tentative appointment, please complete our Online New Patient Intake Form at least 72 business hours before your visit. Sending your insurance information ahead of time lets our insurance team check your coverage and tell you your expected cost before you arrive.

Bring a photo ID, your medical and vision insurance cards, a list of your medications and eye drops, your current glasses and contact lenses (or the lens boxes), and the name of your primary care doctor. If you were referred, bring any records or the referral form your doctor gave you.

Please plan for 90 minutes to 2 hours, just in case, although your visit may be faster. At a first visit we take the time to get to know you, your eye health and your medical history, and a complete medical eye exam may include imaging, other testing and dilating drops, which take time to work. Follow up visits are usually quicker. As a specialty medical clinic, we also make room for eye emergencies and urgent same day patients, which can sometimes add to wait times. Thank you for your patience.

New patient and medical eye exams may include dilation, which lets the doctor see the retina and optic nerve. Your vision may be blurry and sensitive to light for about 4 to 6 hours. Bring sunglasses, and if you are not comfortable driving with blurry vision, bring a driver.

Please call (650) 839-2020 as soon as you know. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late we may need to reschedule you so other patients are not delayed. Appointments missed without notice may be subject to a rebooking fee, as described in our Patient Agreement.

Yes. Many members of our office team are native speakers of other languages. Let us know your preferred language when you schedule and we will do our best to match you with a team member who speaks it, or arrange an interpreter. Many insurance plans also provide a free language line we can use during your visit.

Cataract surgery replaces the cloudy natural lens of your eye with a clear lens implant. It is an outpatient procedure done at a surgery center with numbing drops and light sedation, usually takes less than 30 minutes, and you go home the same day. Learn about cataract surgery.

You may be ready when cataracts make daily activities hard, such as driving at night, reading, seeing glare from headlights or recognizing faces, and new glasses no longer help. Cataracts do not need to be “ripe.” Your doctor measures your vision and glare and helps you decide on the right time.

It depends on the lens you choose. A standard lens is monofocal, so it focuses at one distance. Most people see well far away and use reading glasses up close. It also does not correct astigmatism, which most people have, so glasses may still be needed for the sharpest distance vision. Toric lenses correct astigmatism, and multifocal or extended depth of focus lenses can reduce or eliminate the need for glasses for most daily tasks.

No. We operate on one eye at a time, and the second eye is usually done a few weeks after the first once it has healed well.

Most patients see more clearly within a few days and return to light activities the next day. You will use eye drops for a few weeks and should avoid rubbing your eye, swimming and heavy lifting for about 1 to 2 weeks. We see you the day after surgery and again over the following weeks.

No, a cataract cannot grow back. Some patients later develop a haze behind the lens implant, called posterior capsule opacification. It is treated with a quick, painless in office laser called a YAG capsulotomy.

Yes. Dr. Mitchell Dang leads our dry eye care, including prescription drops, meibomian gland expression, intense pulsed light (IPL), punctal plugs, Lacrifill and amniotic membrane treatment. Your first visit is an evaluation to find the cause; any procedure is scheduled for a later visit.

Yes. Dr. Mitchell Dang offers myopia control to slow the worsening of nearsightedness in children, using low dose atropine eye drops and MiSight daily contact lenses. Call to schedule an evaluation.

Yes, including specialty lenses such as scleral and rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses for irregular corneas and severe dry eye. A contact lens fitting is a separate service from a glasses exam and has its own fee.

Yes. We offer clear lens exchange and premium cataract surgery to reduce dependence on glasses. LASIK, PRK and EVO ICL are not currently offered at our Redwood City office. Call to schedule a consultation to see which option fits your eyes.

Our doctors are Dr. Philip Ngai, MD, a board-certified, fellowship-trained glaucoma and cataract surgeon named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor in 2025 and 2026, and Dr. Mitchell Dang, OD, our full time optometrist, who is certified in glaucoma management and trained at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor (MD) who diagnoses and treats eye disease and performs eye surgery. An optometrist (OD) provides eye exams, glasses and contact lens prescriptions, and diagnoses and treats many eye conditions. At our practice they work as one team, so you see the right doctor for your needs.