Glaucoma

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is an eye disease that leads to progressive damage to your optic nerve. It is often associated with high eye pressure. There are two main types of glaucoma, open-angle and closed-angle. You have tiny internal openings in your eyes that allow fluid to drain. When these drains are either open but not functioning properly, or closed, the fluid in your eye cannot drain properly, which increases the pressure in your eye and on your optic nerve.

Most patients who have glaucoma have open-angle glaucoma. Most patients do not have any noticeable symptoms unless glaucoma is very severe, at which point you may notice the loss of some parts or all of your peripheral vision.

Closed-angle glaucoma is much less common, but it can happen abruptly and is an emergency. If you develop any of the following symptoms, call Eye Surgeons Associates or go to your nearest emergency room immediately.

• Suddenly blurry vision

• Severe eye pain

• Headache

• Nausea and vomiting

• Halos around lights

• Red eyes

Your risk for glaucoma increases with age. Other glaucoma risk factors include a family history of the disease, increased eye pressure from other conditions like diabetes, and long-term use of steroid medications.

How is glaucoma diagnosed?

In most cases, the team at Eye Surgeons Associates can diagnose glaucoma during a routine comprehensive eye exam. Your eye pressure is checked and a dilated exam is performed. If you have elevated eye pressures and/or optic nerve cupping, your ophthalmologist performs additional tests to assess for glaucoma. These tests include a visual field test to check your peripheral vision, optic nerve photos, and optical coherence tomography.

How is glaucoma treated?

All of the physicians at Eye Surgeons Associates have years of experience treating glaucoma. Treatments for glaucoma include:

Eye drops

There are many classes of eye drops aimed at lowering the intraocular pressure which are effective and well tolerated.

Trabeculoplasty

This is a laser treatment to improve drainage of fluid in your eye.

Laser peripheral iridotomy

This procedure creates a small opening in your iris and improves drainage in patients with narrow angle glaucoma.

Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery

There are many minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries or MIGS procedures which help to improve drainage and reduce fluid production within your eye. These may be performed alone or in conjunction with cataract surgery.

Cycloablation

This laser procedure shrinks the ciliary processes, which are the structures within the eye that make aqueous humor (the liquid that fills your eye), reducing the overall volume of fluid and eye pressure.

Trabeculectomy

This procedure creates a small flap in your sclera, or the outer layer of your eyeball, to improve drainage.

Drainage implant surgery

During this procedure, a small silicone tube is placed in your eye to create a permanent drainage path.

If you’re due for an eye exam or concerned about glaucoma, contact Eye Surgeons Associates or today.