Learn About Common Eye Disorders

• Blepharoplasty
• Botox
• Cataract
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Dry Eye Syndrome
• Glaucoma
• Macular Degeneration
• Ptosis

Glaucoma is a disease that affects the optic nerve of the eye. This nerve is responsible for carrying the light signals received by the retina to the brain for processing. Damage to the nerve is caused by elevated pressure within the eye. During an evaluation for glaucoma, your doctor may check the pressure in your eye, evaluate the appearance of your optic nerve for disease, examine the health of the area responsible for draining the eye of fluid, and possibly evaluate your peripheral vision with a visual field test.

Although there is no cure for glaucoma, treatment often can control it. Most doctors use medications to control intraocular pressure in newly diagnosed glaucoma. When medical treatment is inadequate or inappropriate, glaucoma surgery may be required.

In open angle or chronic glaucoma, laser trabeculoplasty may be used; this helps to facilitate fluid drainage from the eye, thereby lowering the intraocular pressure. Vision can be protected with the application of argon laser treatment to the drainage system of the eye, allowing eye fluids to flow out more freely. Surgery may be avoided and medications may be reduced or eliminated.

A small percentage of glaucoma patients develop a rapidly moving painful type of glaucoma, called narrow angle or acute glaucoma. The eye pressure quickly rises and can progress quickly to blindness if the pressure is not reduced. The treatment of choice is laser iridotomy, a simple procedure in which an ophthalmologist uses a laser to create a tiny hole in the iris, avoiding emergency surgery.

The purpose of glaucoma filtration surgery (trabeculectomy) is to surgically make a new opening for the fluid to exit the eye. The surgeon removes a small piece of tissue from the white (sclera) of the eye, creating a new channel for fluid drainage.

Though serious complications with glaucoma surgery are uncommon, they can occur as with any surgery. Surgery is recommended only if the ophthalmologist feels that it is safer to operate than to allow optic nerve damage to continue.