Optometric Microscopes

The Proactive Approach

optometricmicroscopes — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:12:05 +0000

Some contact lens and drug companies directly market to consumers via television and magazines, which can lead to patients asking for specific prescription products. Also common is the request for refractive surgical procedures based on direct-to-consumer advertising that guarantees outcomes we know are outside of expected results. So what can we do to cope with this dilemma? The proactive approach is an alternative approach that is possible and results in superior doctor-patient relationships, practice growth and financial success, as well as overall improvement in professional satisfaction. The approach is proactive. First you gather historical and subjective information. Then you analyze the data based on clinical findings. Finally, you present the patient with treatment options. Patients come for expertise of their ophthalmologists or optometrists. Otherwise, they would see a practitioner who offers the cheapest and most convenient source of eye care and materials. By educating a patient about his condition and treatment, you take a strongly proactive approach. The result is a more compliant patient who understands his eye health status and the effects of treatment. Proactively, you could address the presence of against-the-rule astigmatism. With the number of excellent toric disposable designs available, we can now correct vision to levels matching best corrected spectacle acuity while maintaining the convenience and ocular health response of frequent replacement lens systems. (more…)

Eye problem

optometricmicroscopes — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:10:28 +0000

If your child has been struggling with reading or learning, or if you suspect any difficulty with visual skills, be sure and ask us about vision therapy as an option. Vision is more than just seeing 20/20. Eye teaming, muscle tracking, and accurate focusing are a few of the skills necessary for good vision. These skills are especially important in children when learning and reading. Children, who are having difficulty in school, often have underlying vision problems. Vision therapy can be used to improve and strengthen eye muscle function used for tasks such as eye teaming, tracking and focusing, as well as to improve visual processing and pathways. The goal for vision therapy patients is always to make learning, reading and life skills easier for our patients through individualized training programs. Contrary to popular belief, your clarity of vision is only one of the many concerns we have for your eyes. During the visual examination, the health of your eyes is also evaluated carefully. By studying the blood vessels and retina, toward the back of your eye, many major eye diseases, or chances of one occurring, can be detected, such as glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes, etc… Teamwork is important not only in sports, but in using your eyes as well. Several tests are performed during the examination to see how well your eyes work together. Depth perception, color vision, and your ability to change focus are tested. We also have a visual fields computer that checks the total area you see at any one time, including your central and your peripheral vision to help assess the health of the retina. At the end of the examination, we will be able to tell you what prescription your eyes need to function at their peak. (more…)

Cataract Surgery

optometricmicroscopes — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:08:06 +0000

When the Crystalline lens inside the eye becomes cloudy, it is known as a cataract. Cataract surgery then developed. Cataract surgery today is much better than it was just a few years ago. Today the operation takes about thirty minutes or less, and only local anesthetic is used. The eye is not even bandaged following surgery. You use eye drops for several weeks, and most patients get new glasses at three weeks following surgery. While the operation is not risk free, there are very few complication associated with the no stitch cataract surgery. There are many different types of cataracts and many different causes of cataracts. You can be born with a cataract, acquired one at any age, develop a cataract due to medications you are taking, develop one due to eye trauma, or develop a cataract as you age. It is not uncommon to develop a cataract in your fifties. Most people over sixty years of age have some type of cataract in one or both eyes. Sometimes following cataract surgery, a haze or skim forms on the posterior aspect of the lens capsule. This growth of cells is called an After Cataract. This type of cataract is removed by a YAG laser when a patient’s vision becomes affected. YAG laser surgery only takes a few minutes to perform, and almost all patients see more clearly within a few hours. (more…)

LASIK Surgery

optometricmicroscopes — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:06:54 +0000

Many people are thinking about laser eye surgery have worn glasses or contacts for years. Many have developed an ongoing relationship with an eye doctor, usually an optometrist. Having that doctor involved in improving their vision and having that continuity of care makes the laser vision correction process easier for them. At Golden Vision, we are experienced to work with your LASIK surgeon to provide you with the best quality pre and post surgery patient care for your laser vision correction procedure. The LASIK surgeons will perform the surgery and coordinate your post-operative care. This two-doctor approach combines your optometrist’s knowledge of your long-term eye history with the expertise of a LASIK surgeon trained in the latest advancements in laser vision correction. This provides many patients the best of both worlds at no extra cost. Lasik is a hybrid procedure, combining the ALK technique with the accuracy of the Excimer Laser. First the doctor will use an instrument called a Hansatome. Microkeratome to create a thin surface-flap under the microscope; this will only take a few seconds. Next the Excimer Laser, which has been pre-programmed with your exact correction, applies a rapid, cool ultraviolet light that precisely sculpts a very small amount of the sub-surface of the cornea. These short laser pulses correct the curvature of the cornea, allowing images to be focused clearly on the retina. The flap is then smoothed down where it quickly bonds in place, usually in three to five minutes, restoring a smooth, intact surface. (more…)

Uveitis

optometricmicroscopes — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:05:53 +0000

Uveal tract inflammation is called uveitis. It lines the inside of the eye behind the cornea. Much of the uvea lies between the retina and tough, outer sclera. The uveal tract has three parts: the iris, the ciliary body, and the choroid. Uveitis is categorized according to the part of the uveal tract that is affected. Anterior uveitis is an inflammation of the front part of the uveal tract; it includes inflammation of the iris and inflammation of the iris and the ciliary body. Posterior uveitis is an inflammation of the part of the uveal tract behind the lens of the eye. It includes inflammation of the choroid and inflammation of the choroid and retina. Uveitis that affects the entire uveal tract is called panuveitis or diffuse uveitis. Uveitis may either persist for a long time or have a short-term duration. Anterior uveitis is classified as either granulomatous or nongranulomatous. The distinction is based on the disease agents that were considered responsible for the condition. At one time, it was thought that granulomatous uveitis was caused by tuberculosis bacilli whereas nongranulomatous uveitis was thought to be caused by streptococci. The distinction is still used even though the causes of uveitis are now understood differently. In most cases, uveitis affects only one eye, although posterior uveitis sometimes involves both eyes. About 60% of cases develop within the eye itself, but 40% are associated with systemic diseases or disorders ranging from toxoplasmosis to syphilis. Many of these are diseases of childhood and adolescence. Uveitis does not appear to run in families or to be associated with lifestyle choices, occupational history, geographical location, or environmental factors. (more…)

Achromatopsia

optometricmicroscopes — Mon, 14 May 2007 02:59:15 +0000

There are two types of Achromatopsia. These are the complete achromatopsia and incomplete achromatopsia. Achromatopsia is an inherited condition that affects approximately 1 in every 33,000 Americans. It is also known as rod monochromatism. This condition is related with color blindness, visual acuity loss, extreme light sensitivity and nystagmus. It is a condition found all over the world with varying incidence. Complete Achromatopsia means without color and is defined as little or no function of the cone cells. Persons with achromatopsia are only able to perceive black, white and shades of gray. Patients with complete achromatopsia have no real understanding of the concept of color. A color like red may be perceived as dark gray while yellow may be perceived as a light gray. The vision is much like that of a black and white photograph with varying shades of gray. On the other hand,incomplete achromatopsia have profound color impairment, but do have a small residual amount of color vision and slightly better visual acuity due to the presence of some functioning cone cells in the retina. Achromatopsia is a recessive inherited condition. It requires both parents to contribute a gene in order for the condition to occur. All the offspring of an achromat may carry one gene for achromatopsia. In order to pass the condition onto their children, it would require having children with someone else carrying the same gene. This would be extremely unlikely in today’s very mobile populations. However, in the Western Pacific, there is a small island of Pingelap that has a high incidence of achromatopsia. This population has been studied significantly because of this condition. Through genealogy, it was traced back to 1775 to one man who survived a typhoon which killed most of the islands residents. This man had a mutation of the CNGB3 gene which is essential in the eye’s photoreceptors and ultimately vision. He passed this gene on to his ancestors who have subsequently been affected by achromatopsia. The other group of highly studied achromats is Western European families. The genetic studies there have found another gene that is responsible for their vision problems. The CNGA3 gene was found to cause the condition in this population. Both of these genes affect the cone cells of the eye. Cone cells are responsible for our central, detail vision. Additionally, the three different types of cone cells are responsible for our color vision. (more…)