Glaucoma - Vance Thompson Vision

CLEAR ANSWERS ABOUT
Glaucoma
CLEAR ANSWERS ABOUT CLEAR VISION™
Clear Answers About Clear Vision
TM
At Vance Thompson Vision, we know how
important it is to wake up each morning to
clear vision. Because improved sight means
more than seeing your best. It means being
your best.
With more than 60,000 procedures and
nearly 100 years of combined experience
in eye care and refractive surgery, the team
at Vance Thompson Vision is committed to
using only the most advanced technology
and sets standards used all over the globe.
Whether it’s refractive surgery to reduce
your dependence on glasses or contact
lenses, refractive cataract surgery to
provide a full range of vision or advanced
glaucoma treatment to stop vision loss from
progressing, the team at Vance Thompson
Vision offers leading expertise to answer
any questions and help in the process. We
encourage you to look over the following
information, research your options and
decide what’s best for you.
What’s the most
important part
of your surgery?
Quite simply, your surgeon. In glaucoma
treatment, experience and expertise are key
factors in yielding excellent results.
Drawing upon extensive experience, the
glaucoma team at Vance Thompson Vision
takes pride in helping set the standard of care
for glaucoma treatment.
Mitch Ibach
OD
Jason Schmit
OD
Justin Schweitzer
OD
Keith Rasmussen
OD
Doug Wallin
OD
John Berdahl
MD
Alison Tendler
MD
Vance Thompson
MD
Led by Dr. John Berdahl, the experts at
Vance Thompson Vision provide specialized
glaucoma care, working to halt the progression
of glaucoma through cutting edge research,
treatment and surgical options. Because
everyone deserves to live a life full of sight at
every age.
Glaucoma is the second
leading cause of blindness
in the U.S. And it’s
usually preventable.
At Vance Thompson Vision, glaucoma treatment,
surgery and research represent one pillar of our
specialized care. By reviewing this literature with
a family member or loved one, you are taking
the first steps toward understanding glaucoma.
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is known as the “silent-thief” of
sight because it steals your vision often without
warning signs or symptoms. In fact, nearly two
and a half million people have glaucoma, and
more than half don’t even realize it.
Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic
nerve. Like a cable wire, the optic nerve is
responsible for carrying the images from our
eyes to our brain. Damage to the optic nerve
can occur when the pressure within the eye
increases, usually due to a build-up of aqueous
fluid inside the eye.
“ At 82, I didn’t want
glaucoma to slow me
down from doing what
I’m called to do.”
—Yvonne Fischer, MISSIONARY
This leads to the development of blind spots
in our field of vision. Without routine eye exams
to check the health of your eyes, these blind
spots can go undetected until the optic nerve
is significantly damaged and a great loss of
peripheral or central vision has already occurred.
Damage to the optic nerve may also occur
without elevation of
intraocular pressure.
This is known as
normal tension
glaucoma. Conversely,
the pressure may
be elevated at times
Optic nerve that is damaged due
without damaging the
to glaucoma.
optic nerve. This is a
condition known as
Ocular Hypertension.
Who is at Risk
for Glaucoma?
Since glaucoma can affect anyone, it’s
important to receive regular, comprehensive eye
examinations. Although everyone may be at risk
for glaucoma, there are certain factors that can
increase your risk:
•
•
•
•
•
•
45 years or older
Increased eye pressure
Family history of glaucoma
Severe nearsightedness
African-American, Hispanic or Asian
descent
History of eye injury causing bleeding
in the eye
Regular exams by your eye doctor are the only
way to detect glaucoma. Depending on your
age the frequency of routine exams that can
detect glaucoma should be at least:
•
•
•
40 and under: once every three years
40-65: once every two years
65 and older: every year
Types of Glaucoma
Not every type of glaucoma is the same or
will have the same impact on your life. If
you have been diagnosed with glaucoma,
please familiarize yourself with the different
types of glaucoma below. The specialists at
Vance Thompson Vision are happy to provide
additional information regarding your specific
type of glaucoma and what it will mean to
your life.
Open-angle
glaucoma
This is the most
common type of
glaucoma. The
drainage angle
Eye with chronic open-angle
glaucoma.
(where the fluids in the eye drain) is open but
working less efficiently. This inability to drain
causes pressure within the eye to rise, which
results in a gradual loss of side-vision. This can
be likened to an air filter, which gathers dust
over time and eventually becomes too laden
with dust to work properly.
Angle-closure glaucoma
Angle-closure glaucoma occurs when the
drainage angle is completely blocked, often
by the iris. This prevents any fluid
to drain from the eye, causing pressure within
the eye to suddenly rise. This extreme rise in
pressure results in blurred vision, headaches,
severe eye pain and the appearance of halos
around lights.
Chronic angle-closure glaucoma
With this type of glaucoma, the condition is
painless and involves a more gradual closing
of the drainage angle. Chronic angle-closure
glaucoma occurs most frequently in people of
Asian descent.
Secondary glaucoma
Secondary glaucoma progresses very much like
chronic open-angle glaucoma, occurring when
scar tissue or pigment blocks the drainage
angle. The first symptom is a loss of side-vision.
Pseudoexfoliation glaucoma and pigment
dispersion glaucoma are examples of secondary
glaucoma.
Congenital glaucoma
Congenital glaucoma is a rare birth defect
affecting the drainage angle. To prevent
blindness, this condition must be treated
shortly after birth. Symptoms include enlarged
eyes, a cloudy cornea, light sensitivity and
excessive tearing.
Glaucoma
Treatment Options
Medication
Glaucoma can be treated with daily eye drops
that decrease eye pressure either by slowing
the amount of fluid produced within the eye
or by improving
the flow through
the drainage
angle. Glaucoma
medications may
have side effects,
so be sure to talk
Treatment reduces
to your doctor if
the need for eye drops.
you experience any
unusual symptoms.
Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT)
SLT is a good in-office treatment option for
glaucoma that is completely painless.
By engaging in this laser technology,
ophthalmologists can lower pressure and
possibly help a patient avoid a more invasive
surgery. The surgery may even reduce
dependence on medications or drops.
Surgery
In a standard operating room procedure,
your doctor can also use fine, microsurgical
instruments to create a new drainage channel
for outflow of aqueous fluid. Though serious
complications of modern glaucoma surgery
are uncommon, they can occur. Surgery is
recommended if your ophthalmologist feels that
it is necessary to prevent further damage to the
optic nerve. Before considering surgery, it is
important you visit a qualified surgeon who can
educate you about all of your surgical options.
Vance Thompson Vision’s glaucoma surgeons,
led by Dr. John Berdahl, specialize in glaucoma
surgery and glaucoma research. This ensures
that you will know all of your options prior to
surgery and will be a participant in deciding
the best option for your vision and lifestyle.
Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery
(Glaukos)
Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS)
is a tremendous recent advance in glaucoma
care. Prior to MIGS, treatment options were
limited to medications, laser, and major
glaucoma surgeries. MIGS, using devices like
the Glaukos iStent, provides a less invasive
and very safe surgical approach to glaucoma
surgery. MIGS is usually, but not always,
performed at the same time as cataract surgery
in patients with mild to moderate glaucoma.
The iStent is the smallest medical device
ever implanted into humans, and is used to
decrease eye pressure by internally bypassing
the high resistance portion of the eye’s
drainage system. The iStent was approved
by the FDA in the summer of 2012, and is the
most thoroughly studied glaucoma device on
the market today.
Trabeculectomy and Tube Shunts
Trabeculectomy and tube shunt procedures
are performed by an ophthalmologist and can
lower the pressure in your eye to help prevent
further damage to the optic nerve. However,
any damage that has already been done is
irreversible.
During a trabeculectomy, or tube shunt, your
surgeon creates a passageway that drains
fluid from the inside of your eye to behind it.
These surgeries are more commonly used
after medications have not worked as planned,
laser surgery has not been effective or other
methods of treatment, such as the Glaukos
iStent, are simply not stopping the increase in
intraocular pressure.
Glaucoma’s Impact
on your Life
As our population ages, glaucoma needs
to be taken seriously now more than ever.
Although glaucoma is the second leading
cause of blindness in the U.S. and can be
extremely problematic to your vision, most
people with glaucoma lead a normal life.
If you have been diagnosed at an early
point, you’ll need to make some simple
changes in order to manage your disease.
After diagnosis,
your eye doctor
will make a
suggested
treatment protocol
based on taking
medication,
laser treatment
or surgery. If medication is prescribed,
developing a daily routine can ensure
medication is taken properly. Patients often
try to take medicine or drops when they
wake up, go to sleep or during meals and
snacks.
Although patients can be nervous about a
new diagnosis of glaucoma, it is important
to keep a positive attitude. Glaucoma does
not have to limit your lifestyle, and for the
most part, you should be able to continue
with your regular habits and activities.
Take comfort in knowing that many
individuals, including our doctors, are
stepping up to help glaucoma research
initiatives. The eye care community,
including the Glaucoma Research
Foundation, surges forward in an effort
to find better methods to treat glaucoma.
Someday there may even be a cure for
this disease.
Please feel free to consult with our staff or
the surgeons at Vance Thompson Vision
for your glaucoma treatment and care.
Our team, led by Dr. John Berdahl, is
nationally recognized for glaucoma research
and surgery, authoring numerous book
chapters and scientific articles in addition
to lecturing nationally and internationally.
We are committed to using the world’s most
advanced technology and techniques to halt
glaucoma progression so you can live a life
full of sight.
At Vance Thompson Vision, we’re dedicated
to using the world’s best technology in
combination with our vast experience to help
you see and enjoy life more clearly. To set up
an appointment or ask us a few questions,
please email or call today.
[email protected]
Appointments
605-361-EYES (3937)
Vance Thompson Vision
3101 West 57th Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57108
www.VanceThompsonVision.com
Your
Appointment
TELEPHONE: ( 877) 522–EYES (3937)
(605) 361–EYES (3937)
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has an appointment with
Vance Thompson, MD, FACS
Keith Rasmussen, OD
Doug Wallin, OD
John Berdahl, MD
Justin Schweitzer, OD
Mitch Ibach, OD
Alison Tendler, MD
Jason Schmit, OD
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If unable to keep this appointment, please give 24-hour notice.
3101 WEST 57TH STREET
S I O U X FA L L S , S D 5 7 1 0 8
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