Glaucoma

What Is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States and throughout the world. Currently, there are 70 million people worldwide with glaucoma and that number continues to grow as the population ages.

In the United States, there are 4-5 million Americans with glaucoma but only half of them are aware of their condition and seek treatment. As untreated glaucoma leads to permanent damage of the optic nerve with resultant vision loss, it is imperative to be screened for glaucoma as part of the annual eye exam.

Glaucoma refers to a group of eye diseases with the common feature of optic nerve damage. Though it is often associated with increased eye pressure, it is not always the case, leading some patients with normal eye pressures to have glaucoma while others with increased eye pressures never develop glaucoma. As such, glaucoma can be elusive in nature and therefore requires specialty training to diagnose and manage properly.

While there is no established cause of glaucoma, certain individuals are at a higher risk for developing the condition — including those with a family history of the disease; those with diabetes or a past eye injury; people within certain ethnic groups, including African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Scandinavians; those taking corticosteroids; and anyone over the age of 40.

What Are The Symptoms of Glaucoma?

In most cases, glaucoma develops without warning. For that reason, glaucoma has been called “the silent thief of sight”. In general, glaucoma can be divided into two main groups: closed angle and open angle.

Closed angle glaucoma can appear suddenly and is often painful. Vision loss can progress quickly but the discomfort often leads patients to seek medical care before significant damage occurs.

The more common open angle glaucoma develops without pain or warning and tends to progress at a slower rate. Patients are therefore often unaware of losing their vision until the disease has progressed. By the time these patients seek medical care, their vision is permanently lost.

Is There a Cure For Glaucoma?

Although there is currently no cure for glaucoma, treatment is highly effective and safe. The key is early intervention. With timely detection, it is possible to arrest the development or slow the progression of optic nerve damage. Once glaucoma is diagnosed, eye pressure can be successfully decreased and controlled with a combination of prescription eye drops, laser treatment, and/or surgery.

Many factors are considered in deciding the best treatment plan for each patient. Then, as glaucoma requires long term management and care, patients are monitored on a regular basis using the most advanced technologies and instrumentation, including optical coherence tomography (OCT) and Heidelberg retinal tomography (HRT). Regular checkups are required to monitor and ensure proper management and care.

What Are The Treatment Options For Glaucoma?

There’s no cure for glaucoma, but treatment can stop it from progressing further, when caught early. Most patients are treated with a combination of eye drops, laser treatment, and/or surgery, including:

• Prescription eye drops to lower pressure
• SLT (Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty) – a focused beam of light opens up the eye drainage area, often controlling pressure after just one session
• Canaloplasty – a minimally invasive procedure that restore the eye’s natural drainage system
• Tube-shunt surgery – a small drainage device placed in the eye to help fluid drain and lower pressure
• Trabeculectomy – creates a new tiny drainage opening to bypass clogged channels
• Dropless glaucoma treatment for patients who want to reduce or skip daily drops

Your care team will recommend the right combination based on your specific condition and vision needs.

Why Choose Texan Eye

Our team includes specialty trained glaucoma surgeons and optometrists, backed by some of the most advanced glaucoma technology in Central Texas. Since glaucoma is a lifelong condition, we’ll build a care plan to monitor your eyes over time and track changes early.