One of his own skill sets Dr. McMillin recognized early on was his talent for tinkering. “Our family grew up working on thirty acres in East Tennessee, so there was always something mechanical that needed repairing, like tractors and four-wheelers,” he adds. Understanding how mechanical things worked, tearing them apart, repairing them and restoring their function became a real passion for the future physician.

“My dad noticed these talents and encouraged me that if I was interested in Optometry and I liked working with my hands, Ophthalmology might be a natural fit for me,” he admits. “The integration of medicine and cutting edge technology was a perfect career path for me. Ophthalmic surgery melded my academic interests with the simple fact that I liked to fix things,” he explains.

To pursue his interest in medicine and technology, Dr. McMillin attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science – which, he says, is really an applied physiology degree. He had played football (tailback and strong safety) all the way through high school, incorporating weight training and running into his workouts, so his undergraduate degree was a natural bridge to medicine.

Undergraduate school was also where he met his wife, who earned her nursing degree and then practiced in her field to help support their growing family through his medical school, residency and fellowship. He was so happy at USC he stayed there to earn his Doctor of Medicine, magna cum laude, in the University’s School of Medicine.

“In the past fifteen years the field of cornea transplantation has been revolutionized, with modern corneal transplant procedures we are able to selectively transplant layers as thin as fifteen microns, all under local anesthesia. Recovery is now a couple of weeks, instead of a year or more. Giving patients back excellent vision with a corneal transplant is incredibly gratifying,” he explains. As far as the future of his specialty, Dr. McMillin would like to see the day surgeons no longer perform transplants. With new research, he believes, injecting cultured corneal endothelial cells can cure many of the diseases requiring cornea surgery. This forward-thinking approach to eye care is one of the many reasons he joined Drs. Campbell, Cunningham, Taylor and Haun. “Our leadership team is committed to investing in technology and providing the most advanced surgical procedures for our patients.”

Growing up hunting and fly fishing in upper East Tennessee with summers spent water skiing and wakeboarding on Boone Lake, Dr. McMillin says outdoor activities are still very important to him, as well as his wife. While in Colorado they stayed fit competing in half-marathons.

They love to take their daughters running with them in their jogging stroller, and are excited about hiking with them in the Great Smokies.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. McMillin or any of our doctors, call (865) 584-0905.