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Posted by: Missouri Eye Institute in Blog on October 4, 2022
Glaucoma is called the silent thief of sight due to its ability to affect your eyesight while presenting little to no other symptoms. Unfortunately, any vision loss caused by glaucoma is permanent, and there is no cure for the condition.
Early detection and consistent treatment are the best ways to prevent or halt vision loss caused by glaucoma. Keep reading to learn more about the treatment options available for glaucoma!
Glaucoma is an eye condition that causes slow, progressive vision loss. Those with glaucoma often have an eye pressure level higher than usual.
As your eye pressure increases, the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain becomes damaged. A healthy optic nerve is essential for clear vision because it carries information from the retina to the brain for you to see an image.
In most types of glaucoma, the process of optic nerve damage is so slow that you likely won’t notice your vision changing until the condition is advanced. Since your eyes are constantly making new fluid, in order for your eyes to maintain a healthy eye pressure level, the fluid must be flowing out of the eye at a consistent rate.
For those with glaucoma, either too much fluid is being created, or not enough is leaving the eye.
The first step in preventing or halting damage to your vision is to lower the pressure in the eye. The first method of treatment that eye doctors typically try is medicated eye drops.
This medication aims to relieve eye pressure, either by increasing the outflow of fluid or decreasing the production of fluid. You will need to take glaucoma eye drops consistently for them to be effective.
If you miss doses or stop taking them altogether, you will be at risk for vision loss.
In some cases, medicated eye drops alone are not enough to lower eye pressure. MIGS, or minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries, is a type of glaucoma surgery that has a high success rate.
At Missouri Eye Institute in Springfield, MO, our eye doctor offer MIGS and traditional glaucoma surgery to help lower eye pressure in people with glaucoma.
Here are some of the surgical treatment options for glaucoma we offer at Missouri Eye Institute:
The I-Stent is a type of MIGS procedure where your eye doctor inserts a tiny stent into the eye to create a bypass for the eye fluid.
The I-Track Canaloplasty opens up a canal in the drainage pathway of your eye with a catheter. This process allows fluid to drain more easily.
Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty, or SLT, improves the flow of eye fluid by using a precision laser.
During Endocyclophotocoagulation or ECP, your eye doctor will use a laser to slow down the protection of fluid rather than targeting the drainage system.
Trabeculectomy is an older but still effective method of aiming to lower eye pressure. Eye doctors typically reserve this method for severe cases of glaucoma.
There are many types of glaucoma. However, the most common is open-angle glaucoma.
In open-angle glaucoma, the angle of the eye is open, which is the part of the eye the fluid must travel through before reaching the meshwork channel where will drain out of the eye. If the angle is completely closed, this can cause a much larger issue.
This event is called acute angle-closure glaucoma and can cause you to experience very rapid vision loss, among other uncomfortable symptoms. Instead of having no systems, you may experience eye pain, headaches, and nausea.
Angle-closure glaucoma requires immediate treatment to improve symptoms and prevent vision loss.
Do you want to learn more about glaucoma treatment options? Schedule an appointment at Missouri Eye Institute in Springfield, MO, today!
Springfield
1531 E Bradford Parkway Ste 100
Springfield, MO 65804
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1000 James F. Epps Rd Ste 2
Branson, MO 65616
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4500 E 32nd St
Joplin, MO 64804
