Ophthalmologist Services at Accent on Eyes

Pre-surgery preparation

If at all possible, ten days prior to having ophthalmologic surgery patients should stop taking any blood thinning drugs including aspirin, Motrin, Advil, Ginkgo biloba, Vitamin E, fish oil, Plavix and Coumadin. If necessary the surgeon will discuss this with a patient’s primary care doctor or cardiologist. To reduce the chance of infection and swelling, the patient may be asked to begin using Zymar and Acular drops before surgery.

Cataracts

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology that by forty years of age twenty-two million Americans will suffer with cataracts and by age eighty half of all American have suffered with cataracts.

A cataract occurs when the eye's crystalline lens become cloudy and prevents light from forming a clear image on the retina. If the loss of sight is significant, surgical removal of the lens may be warranted. The surgery is typically performed using a phacoemulsification probe, which cuts the cloudy lens into small pieces, while extracting liquefied remains. The surgeon replaces the lens with a plastic intraocular lens (IOL). Usually the procedure does not require general anesthesia and rest is recommended for recovery.

Glaucoma Surgery

Glaucoma is a disease affecting the optic nerve resulting in loss of vision. In many cases the patient’s vision is further compromised when their intraocular pressure (IOP) rises. There are a variety of surgical procedures used to facilitate the escape of excess fluid from the eye to lower intraocular pressure. To learn more www.Glaucoma.org

Laser Photocoagulation

The procedure is used to cauterize damaged blood vessels to slow the progression of some forms of wet age-related macular degeneration.

Refractive Surgeries

The surgeon uses a laser to reshape the cornea. She makes an incision in the cornea and ablates the cornea replacing the flap. This procedure is very short lasting only a few minutes.

Canaloplasty

Is an advanced, nonpenetrating procedure designed to enhance drainage through the eye’s natural drainage system to provide sustained reduction of IOP. Canaloplasty utilizes microcatheter technology in a simple and minimally invasive procedure. To perform a canaloplasty, an Ophthalmologist creates a tiny incision to gain access to a canal in the eye. A microcatheter circumnavigates the canal around the iris, enlarging the main drainage channel and its smaller collector channels through the injection of a sterile, gel-like material called viscoelastic. The catheter is then removed and a suture is placed within the canal and tightened. By opening up the canal, the pressure inside the eye can be reduced. Long-term results are available, published in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Eyelid Surgery

This includes eyelid cysts and tumours, malpositions such as drooping eyelids ( ptosis ), inturning ( entropion) or outturning ( ectropion ) of lid margin, staring eyes in thyroid eye disease, watering eyes, facial palsy rehabilitation and artificial ( prosthetic ) eyes. Oculoplastic surgeons also undertake aesthetic treatments and surgery to improve the cosmetic appearance of the face, such as blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) to remove excess overhanging skin of the upper eyelids and puffy bags from under the eyes; brow lift, Botox and dermal filler injections to remove wrinkles (crow feet), forehead lines and tear trough deformity.

Surgery Involving the Lacrimal Apparatus

• A dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) or dacryocystorhinotomy is a procedure to restore the flow of tears into the nose from the lacrimal sac when the nasolacrimal duct does not function.
• Canaliculodacryocystostomy is a surgical correction for a congenitally blocked tear duct in which the closed segment is excised and the open end is joined to the lacrimal sac.
• Canaliculotomy involves slitting of the lacrimal punctum and canaliculus for the relief of epiphora.
• A dacryoadenectomy is the surgical removal of a lacrimal gland.
• A dacryocystectomy is the surgical removal of a part of the lacrimal sac.
• A dacryocystostomy is an incision into the lacrimal sac, usually to promote drainage.
• A dacryocystotomy is an incision into the lacrimal sac.