Additional Eye Care Services
We Can Help You Find the Source of Your Eye Discomfort
At Chang Eye Group, we take eye health very seriously and want to do what we can to help keep your eyes in top shape. If you have had previous eye problems or if you are experiencing new eye pain or vision problems, contact us today.
Retina Surgery and Treatments for Retina Vitreous
What Is the Retina and What Does It Do?
The retina is a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye on the inside. The center of the retina (called the macula) is located near the optic nerve, and the peripheral retina extends along the inside of the eye. The purpose of the retina is to receive light that converts into signals and then these signals are sent to the brain for visual recognition.
Signs of Retinal Damage
Any of these symptoms may indicate that you have retinal damage, but only a trained eye doctor can diagnose:
- Flashes of lights
- Sudden increase of floaters
- Shadow or curtain in vision
- Gradually reduced side (peripheral) vision
- New grey spots, strings, or spider webs
Treatments for Retina Vitreous Problems
Our retinal specialist can perform some procedures and treatments in our offices. Other procedures may require an outpatient surgery hospital.
There are a number of surgical options that your surgeon may consider:
- Intravitreal injections: During this procedure, your doctor injects medicine into the vitreous, which is the central space inside the eye. Injections are used to treat several retinal conditions including macular degeneration, macular edema, and retinal vein occlusions.
- Laser treatment: Non-invasive laser treatment is used to treat several conditions including diabetic retinopathy, to limit scarring from wet macular degeneration, or treat retinal tears to prevent retinal detachments. Laser treatment is commonly performed in the office.
- Cryotherapy: Cryotherapy may be used to treat retinal detachments and tears. Cryotherapy freezes and seals abnormal “leaky” blood vessels or retinal tears.
- Scleral buckling: The scleral buckling procedure is commonly used to treat retinal detachment and is completed in a hospital setting. A scleral buckle is placed around the eye and helps to hold the retina in place.
- Pneumatic Retinopexy: Pneumatic Retinopexy is used to repair a retinal tear and detachment. During this procedure, a gas bubble is injected into the vitreous cavity which helps seal the tear and reattach the retina.
- Vitrectomy: Vitrectomy is commonly performed for vitreous hemorrhage, diabetic retinopathy, macular hole, epiretinal membrane, or retinal detachments. During this procedure, which is performed in the operating room, your doctor uses microsurgical instruments to remove the vitreous gel and treat the retinal problem that is affecting vision.
Detect and Manage Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Macular Degeneration affects the eye’s macula, which is a small area in the light-sensitive retina, in the back of your eye, which is responsible for your good central vision. There are different kinds of macular problems, but the most common is age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The macula makes up only a small part of the retina, yet it is much more sensitive to detail than the rest of the retina (called the peripheral retina). The macula is what allows you to thread a needle, read small print, and read street signs. The peripheral retina gives you side (or peripheral) vision.
AMD symptoms include blurriness, dark areas, or distortion in your central vision. It usually does not affect your peripheral vision. For example, with advanced AMD, you could see the outline of a clock, yet may not be able to read the hands of the clock to tell what time it is. While it is a serious eye condition, AMD almost never causes total blindness. Even people with advanced cases retain useful peripheral vision. In many cases, macular degeneration’s impact on your vision can be minimal.
Early detection of AMD is helpful. Many people are not aware that they have AMD until it is detected during an eye examination – this is one important reason for older people to have regular comprehensive eye exams at Chang Eye Group.
Types of Macular Degeneration
There are two types of macular degeneration:
1. Dry, or Atrophic, Macular Degeneration with Drusen – Most people who have AMD have the dry form. This condition is caused by aging and thinning of tissues of the macula. AMD usually begins when tiny yellow or white pieces of fatty protein form under the retina called drusen.
With dry AMD, vision loss is usually gradual; you should carefully and constantly monitor your central vision. Report any changes in your vision to your eye doctor, as the dry form can change into the more damaging form of macular degeneration called wet (exudative) macular degeneration. While there is no medication to prevent dry macular degeneration, some people may benefit from taking a supplement specifically formulated for AMD patients. This is AREDS II formulation.
2. Wet, or exudative, macular degeneration – About 10 percent of people who have AMD have the more damaging wet form. Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels begin to grow underneath the retina. This blood vessel growth is called choroidal neovascularization (CNV). These new blood vessels may leak fluid or blood, blurring or distorting central vision.
The longer these abnormal vessels leak or grow, the more risk you have of losing vision. Also, if abnormal blood vessel growth happens in one eye, there is a risk that it will occur in the other eye. The earlier that wet macular degeneration is diagnosed and treated, the better chance you have of preserving some or much of your central vision. That’s why it is so important that your Change Eye Group doctor monitor your vision in each eye carefully.
Treating the wet form of macular degeneration may involve the use of anti-VEGF injections. Treatment of wet macular degeneration often reduces the risk of severe vision loss.
Test Your Vision Using an Amsler Grid
If you have been diagnosed with dry macular degeneration, you should use a chart called an Amsler grid every day to monitor your vision, as dry macular degeneration can change into the more damaging wet form.
To use the Amsler grid:
- Wear your reading glasses and hold the grid 12 to 15 inches away from your face in good light
- Cover one eye
- Look directly at the center dot with the uncovered eye and keep your eye focused on it
- While looking directly at the center dot, note whether all lines of the grid are straight, or if any areas are distorted, blurry, or dark
- Repeat this procedure with the other eye
- If any area of the grid looks wavy, blurred, or dark, contact your ophthalmologist
- If you detect any changes when looking at the grid, you should notify Chang Eye Group immediately
Additional Eye Care
Laser Procedures
Laser procedures are usually performed in the doctor’s office. For comfort during the procedure, an anesthetic eye drop is often all that is necessary. The laser is a very bright, finely focused light. It can pass through certain parts of the eye without affecting them in any way, and have a specific effect on the targeted tissue.
Capsulotomy
In some cases, several months or years after cataract surgery, the part of the lens covering that supports the intraocular lens can become cloudy. If this occurs and blurs your vision, the doctor will use a laser to make an opening in the center of the cloudy capsule to allow light to pass through the lens properly again. This procedure takes less than five minutes and requires no recovery period.
Trabeculoplasty
This surgery is used to treat open-angle glaucoma. This is performed by Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT).
With SLT, a laser is used at different frequencies, allowing it to work at very low levels. SLT treats specific cells and leaves the mesh-like drainage canals surrounding the iris intact. SLT may be an alternative for those who have been treated unsuccessfully with traditional laser surgery or with pressure-lowering drops.
Even if laser trabeculoplasty is successful, patients can continue taking glaucoma medications after surgery. Many people who have had a successful laser trabeculoplasty may need a repeat treatment in the future.
Iridotomy
This procedure is recommended for people who have a type of glaucoma called closed-angle glaucoma. The doctor uses a laser to create a small hole about the size of a pinhead through the top part of the iris to improve the flow of aqueous fluid to the drainage angle. This hole is hidden from view by the upper eyelid.
Possible Eye Procedure Complications
Any and all surgical procedures should be taken seriously. Even after the doctor has answered any questions you might have, you should take some time and think it over before committing to surgery.
If you’re interested in having these kinds of surgeries and want to discuss your options with one of our highly-qualified ophthalmologists, get in touch with Chang Eye Group.