Glaucoma
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of permanent vision loss. At Azure Eye Center, our fellowship trained ophthalmologist has the experience and expertise necessary to diagnose glaucoma and create a treatment plan to preserve your vision.
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that causes damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve is responsible for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain. A healthy optic nerve is vital for clear and complete vision. When it becomes damaged, any vision loss, as a result, is permanent.
In most glaucoma cases, damage to the optic nerve is caused by consistently high eye pressure. The most common type of glaucoma is called primary open-angle glaucoma.
In open-angle glaucoma, the pressure inside the eye gradually increases and damages the optic nerve over time. This type of glaucoma usually has no symptoms and can go undiagnosed until significant vision loss has occurred.
Other types of glaucoma include acute angle-closure glaucoma and secondary glaucoma, which can have more noticeable symptoms and be caused by other underlying health conditions. Since the most common type of glaucoma typically presents no symptoms, it is important to have your eyes examined regularly to ensure you are not at risk for developing glaucoma.
Early detection and treatment are the best ways to prevent vision loss from glaucoma.
How Is Glaucoma Detected?
Your eye doctor at Azure Eye Center will look for changes in your eyes during every comprehensive eye exam that may indicate the presence of an eye condition. If your eye doctor detects changes in your eyes that may indicate glaucoma, they may also conduct further testing for a proper diagnosis.
This test measures your eye pressure. Since high eye pressure is one of the leading indicators or risk factors for glaucoma, eye pressure testing is one of the most important parts of an eye exam.
To examine the optic nerve at the back of your eye, your eye doctor will give you dilation drops to enlarge your pupil. Then, they will use a microscope called a slit lamp and special lenses to check for any signs of damage to your optic nerve.
Unless you are a glaucoma suspect or have another eye condition that requires one, the visual field test is not usually a part of a routine eye exam. However, if you have noticed changes in your peripheral or central vision, or if your eye doctor determines that your eye pressure is elevated or notices changes in your optic nerve, they may ask you to do a visual field test.
Since glaucoma typically affects peripheral vision first, a visual field test will give your eye doctor a map of your vision to see if any part of your vision has been affected.
If your eye doctor confirms changes in your vision and optic nerve, in addition to elevated eye pressure levels, your eye doctor may diagnose you with glaucoma.
What is a Glaucoma Suspect?
A glaucoma suspect is someone who has specific characteristics or risk factors that make them more likely to develop glaucoma but has not yet been diagnosed with the eye condition. These characteristics or risk factors include a family history of glaucoma, high intraocular pressure, certain types of eye conditions or injuries, and certain medical conditions such as diabetes or hypertension.
If you are a glaucoma suspect, your eye doctor at Azure Eye Center may want to monitor your eyes more closely and ask you to come in for more frequent eye exams to check for any signs of the eye condition. Just because someone is a glaucoma suspect does not mean they will develop the eye condition.
However, it does mean that they are at an increased risk and, therefore, must be monitored closely.
Who is Most At-Risk for Developing Glaucoma?
Several groups of people are at increased risk for developing glaucoma, even if they are not a glaucoma suspect. Here are some factors that may cause you to be more at risk for glaucoma:
Although these factors may cause you to be more likely to develop glaucoma, not all people with these risk factors will develop glaucoma.
How Is Glaucoma Treated?
Once diagnosed with glaucoma, your eye doctor at Azure Eye Center will develop a treatment plan to help prevent vision loss and control eye pressure. Many treatment methods are available, and your eye doctor will help determine which treatment is best for you.
Typically, the first line of defense against glaucoma is starting treatment with prescription eye drops. These medications will help lower your eye pressure and prevent further vision loss.
These eye drops must be taken consistently to work, so you mustn’t skip a dose. In many cases, prescription eye drops work to help lower eye pressure.
However, in some cases, you may need additional treatment to help control glaucoma.
Selective laser trabeculoplasty, also known as SLT, is a type of laser procedure that can help improve fluid outflow, which helps lower your eye pressure. SLT is a quick, in-office procedure typically performed on patients with open-angle glaucoma.
Durysta is a sustained-release medication that your eye doctor can insert into your eye. Once in the eye, it will release a medication called bimatoprost, which aims to lower eye pressure.
Since this medication releases automatically, it removes the hurdle of human error, like forgetting to take your eye drops.
MIGS
MIGS, or minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, is a group of glaucoma procedures that aim to lower eye pressure and control glaucoma. There are many different types of MIGS procedures, and all are less invasive than traditional glaucoma surgery.
At Azure Eye Center, our ophthalmologist performs MIGS with iStent and also perform canaloplasty. The iStent is a tiny implantable device that helps lower eye pressure in those with open-angle glaucoma.
During MIGS with the iStent, your doctor will insert the device into the eye and create a permanent opening in the drainage structure of the eye. This helps increase the outflow of fluid, thus lowering your eye pressure.
At Azure Eye Center, we also also perform canaloplasty, which is done through a small incision to also create an opening in the drainage channel. Like other MIGS procedures, a canaloplasty also aims at reducing eye pressure.
Besides causing minimal damage to the surrounding structures of the eye, another benefit of MIGS procedures is that they can also be performed during cataract surgery.
Your fellowship trained ophthalmologist at Azure Eye Center will create a treatment plan to help control eye pressure and prevent vision loss. Unfortunately, no glaucoma medication can reverse damage to vision that has already been done.
To help avoid unexpected vision loss from glaucoma, it’s important to visit your eye doctor for regular eye exams. At Azure Eye Center, we are dedicated to ensuring your eye health and vision for many years to come.
Do you have a family history of glaucoma or want to learn more about the eye condition? Schedule an appointment at Azure Eye Center in Ft. Worth, TX, today!
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