Don't worry. An optometrist is trained to recognize medical problems, but is not qualified to do surgery on the eye. For that you need an ophthalmologist. The transfer between disciplines is normal procedure. I used to work for a large ophthalmic practice, and routinely made up power-point presentations of eye conditions (some quite stomach-churning) and burned them to slides so that the ophthalmologists could present them at optometrists' conventions. For reference, an optician (I am a board-certified optician) is qualified to make eyeglasses for you based on the prescription of an optometrist or ophthalmologist. An optometrist is qualified to evaluate defects in your vision, prescribe eyeglasses and contacts, and often to fit contacts. An ophthalmologist does many of the same things that an optometrist does, but usually specializes in surgical procedures that may encompass retinal procedures, lens replacement (a common response to cataracts), reconstruction, plastic surgery of the occipital region, enucleation, etc. So don't panic unless the ophthalmologist has some difficulty with the procedure. Chances are, she'll be fine.
