Glaucoma Surgery

Are You Developing Glaucoma?
Glaucoma Doctors Minnesota

Have you been told by your eye doctor that you have high intraocular pressure and might have glaucoma? The doctors at Family Eye Center specialize in helping patients with glaucoma. Please feel free to read through our information regarding glaucoma and the potential treatment options. Due to the serious risks that glaucoma presents to your vision we highly suggest contacting our office immediately for an eye care appointment to evaluate your status.

Most people get extremely discouraged when they find out that have glaucoma. Most patients cannot even feel that anything has happened. The American Academy of Ophthalmology reports that almost two and a half million people have Glaucoma. More than half of these people do not even realize they have the disease because there are often no warning symptoms.  Glaucoma is known as the “silent-thief” of sight because it silently steals your vision without you even realizing it. If you do not have routine eye exams to check the status of your eye health, glaucoma and other diseases will steal your vision. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and the leading cause of preventable blindness. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology Approximately 2.2 million Americans age 40 and older have glaucoma. This volume of people having glaucoma is simply stunning.

Understanding what happens in your eye when you have glaucoma

Glaucoma is an eye disease that slowly damages the optic nerve and causes vision loss. Many times this occurs without warning and symptoms. Like a cable wire, the optic nerve is responsible for carrying the images we see to the brain. Damage to the optic nerve can occur when the pressure within the eye increases, usually due to a build-up of aqueous fluid inside the eye. This leads to the development of blind spots in our field of vision. However, damage may occur without elevation of the intra-ocular pressure. Conversely, the pressure may at times be elevated without damaging the optic nerve. This is a condition known as Ocular Hypertension. Blind spots in the field of vision usually go undetected by the individual until the optic nerve is significantly damaged and a great loss of peripheral or central vision has occurred. A Visual Field evaluation can detect glaucomatous damage in its very early stages. If the disease is untreated the optic nerve may be damaged to a point that irreversible blindness will result.

Glaucoma, often called the "sneak thief of sight" because it usually has no symptoms, affects about 2.2 million Americans and 67 million people worldwide. It is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, particularly among the elderly population.

Did you know that Glaucoma comes in many forms?

Types of Glaucoma

• Chronic open-angle glaucoma,
• Congenital Glaucoma,
• Secondary Glaucoma,
• Chronic angle-closure glaucoma,
• Angle-closure glaucoma.

Glaucoma: Those At Risk?
People at greater risk for glaucoma:

1. People of African-American descent
2. Adults over the age of 50 years
3. Those with a significant family history of glaucoma
4. People who have diabetes
5. Nearsighted patients
6. People with high intraocular pressure

• African-Americans have a greater than average chance for developing glaucoma than do people of other racial backgrounds.
• The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) now recommends that people with other risk factors for glaucoma have their eyes examined.
• Corticosteroids that are inhaled are most often used to treat asthma and have been reported to raise intraocular pressure (IOP)

Glaucoma Treatment Options
Minnesota Glaucoma Treatments

Medications

Medical technology can often times bring miracles.

Glaucoma is usually treated with daily eye drops that decrease eye pressure either by slowing the amount of fluid produced within the eye or by improving the flow through the drainage angle. Glaucoma medications may produce side effects, so be sure to talk to your doctor if you experience any unusual symptoms.

Glaucoma Treatment - To Use Eye Drops

1. Wash your hands thoroughly.
2. Sit down, lean back, tilt your head back, and look up toward your forehead.
3. With the index finger of one hand, pull down the lower eyelid to make a pocket for the drop.
4. Hold the bottle over the eye between the thumb and index finger of the other hand and invert it with the tip pointed down at a slight angle.
5. Carefully squeeze the bottle to release a single drop into your eyes. Follow your doctor's directions exactly for the number of drops to use.
6. After administering eye drops, you may want to close your eyes for a few minutes to help distribute the medicine evenly.
7. Sometimes eye drops may drip down the tear duct into the throat. If this is bothersome you can try applying pressure with your index finger to the inner corner of your eye for a few seconds after you've used the eye drops.
   

Surgery
In a standard, operating room procedure, your doctor can also use fine, microsurgical instruments to create a new drainage channel for outflow of aqueous fluid. Though serious complications of modern glaucoma surgery are uncommon, they can occur. Surgery is recommended if your ophthalmologist feels that it is necessary to prevent further damage to the optic nerve.

Glaucoma surgery

Surgical – Family eye center currently offers two different types of surgical treatment for glaucoma. Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty- a non invasive low energy procedure which heats up an area of the eye to help open the drainage system of the eye and lower the pressure on the optic nerve.

Photocoagulation – a more involved procedure for individuals who have already had cataract surgery. During this procedure the Dr. Fischer lasers the ciliary muscle where the aqueous fluid is produced. This decreases the flow lowering the pressure in the eye.

Trabeculectomy - is a surgical procedure performed by an ophthalmologist used to lower eye pressure. By trying to lower the eye pressure damage can be halted from further pressure increases but that damage already done is not reversible.

The trabeculectomy procedure involves the surgeon creating a tiny passageway from the inside to the outside of your eye. This helps fluid drain better from the areas it is presently not draining.  A trabeculectomy can lower the pressure in your eye and help prevent more damage to the optic nerve.

Trabeculectomy is more commonly used after other treatment options have not been successful or are simply not stopping the increasing IOP. (Intraocular Pressure)

• Medicines do not work as planned
• Laser surgery to lower the eye pressure has not worked

Laser Surgery

Laser surgery treatments may be recommended for certain types of glaucoma. In open-angle glaucoma, a laser can be used to modify the drain to help control eye pressure.

In angle-closure glaucoma, the laser can be used to create a hole in the iris to improve the flow of aqueous to the drainage angle.

SLT – Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty is quickly becoming a widely accepted treatment option in glaucoma treatment. SLT offers a new glimpse of hope for glaucoma patients. By engaging in this NEW laser technology the ophthalmologists can now lower pressure that can possibly help a patient avoid a more invasive surgery. The surgery might even reduce the dependence on medications or drops.

What does the procedure do?

SLT actually lowers (IOP) intraocular pressure by creating relatively small pulsing low-energy laser light to target cells in the trabecular mesh system of the eye.