Overview of Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a vision threatening disease that is the second leading cause of blindness in the US. When a person develops glaucoma, the intraocular pressure (fluid pressure inside the eye) becomes elevated and causes the optic nerve in the back of the eye to gradually loose its fibers and if not treated, to die (i.e. untreated glaucoma can cause blindness). Unfortunately, the disease does not manifest itself until its late stages and a person can live with glaucoma for a time without noticing symptoms while the disease causes the damage. Vision loss starts from the sides and by the time patients notice fading side vision, significant portions of the optic nerve may have already been irreversibly lost.

Who is Most at Risk

Some people have higher risk to develop glaucoma. Those are people over 60 years of age, people of African descent, people with close relatives with glaucoma, people with eye trauma and people with diabetes. Some people of Eastern European origin have special form - Pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. This said, a person that is not in the higher risk group, may also develop it, and therefore annual exams for everyone are very necessary to rule out issues.

Treatment

Dr. Svetlana Tsipursky and the dedicated staff of Advanced Eye Care are on the forefront of the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and have treated thousands of patients. When a diagnosis is made in time, glaucoma is a treatable disease and if the patient follows doctor’s recommendations their vision may be saved!

The only way to detect glaucoma is by thorough examination of the eye by an ophthalmologist. During an annual visit Dr. Svetlana Tsipursky will measure the eye pressure, evaluate the shape and color of the optic nerve, and examine the anterior chamber angle (the area where there are drainage channels). If glaucoma is suspected, Dr. Svetlana Tsipursky may perform additional tests, such as computerized side vision test (Visual field), measurement of corneal thickness (Pachimetry) and computerized scanning of the optic nerve (OCT). All tests are performed using the most advanced diagnostic tools such as the Zeiss Cirrus © High Definition- Optical Coherence Tomograph (HD-OCT).

Once the disease is identified, Dr. Tsipursky recommends individualized treatment that may include a combination of eye drops and laser. Laser treatment of narrow angle (Laser peripheral iridotomy) and open angle (Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty or SLT) is performed in the office under local anesthesia administrated via eye drops and takes mere minutes. Note: LPI and SLT therapy is reimbursed by Medicare and most other vision insurance providers. Different eye drops may be prescribed to manage and treat eye pressure.

You may contact the office of Dr. Svetlana Tsipursky at 847 724 0101 to schedule an appointment and you will receive the most experienced and compassionate care, helping you to save your vision.