Glaucoma

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a progressive disease of the eye, which is characterized by pressure inside the eye being too high and causing the nerve fibers running through the optic nerve to slowly deteriorate.

What causes glaucoma?

Clear liquid called aqueous humor circulates inside the front portion of the eye. To maintain a healthy level of pressure within the eye, a small amount of this fluid produced constantly while the equal amount flows out of the eye through a microscopic drainage system. (This liquid is not part of the tears on the outer surface of the eye.)

Because the eye is a closed structure, if the drainage area for the aqueous humor - called the drainage angle - is blocked, the excess fluid cannot flow out of the eye. Fluid pressure within the eye increases, pushing against the optic nerve and causing damage.

Types of Glaucoma:

Open-angle: Open-angle glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma. With open-angle glaucoma, the eye appears normal, but fluid in it doesn't flow properly through the drain of the eye. Open-angle glaucoma develops slowly over time. 

Angle-closure: Also known as chronic angle-closure or narrow-angle glaucoma, this type of glaucoma is less common. With angle-closure glaucoma, poor drainage happens because the angle between the iris and the cornea is too narrow and is physically blocked by the iris. This all leads up to sudden built up pressure in the eye. 

How is glaucoma treated?

Unfortunately, there is no cure for glaucoma. However, it can be managed with various treatments including drops, laser treatment, and traditional surgery. 

  • Routine yearly glaucoma screening

  • Diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma

  • Laser treatment

  • Glaucoma surgery

  • Continued care and education

A patient with glaucoma is not a candidate for laser vision correction.

To be precise and as accurate as we can in your glaucoma treatment we use an OCT machine and state-of-the-art medical equipment that takes optic nerve and retinal imaging for glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and other retinal problems.