Glaucoma Treatment In Hattiesburg, MS

Managing glaucoma requires keeping intraocular pressure at a normal level for the rest of a patient’s life. The most common way and often the first treatment choice is with medicated drops a patient applies to their eyes daily. Depending on the active ingredients, these drops either help the eye drain excess fluid or decrease fluid production.

Eye drops are non-invasive, easy to use and can effectively control pressure for many years. Some patients, however, can develop allergies to the medication, or the drops become less effective over time, leading us to consider other procedures to lower eye pressure.

One such common procedure is a trabeculectomy or filter surgery. During this procedure the surgeon removes tissue in the eye interfering with drainage, including part of the eye’s drainage system called the trabecular meshwork, to improve fluid removal.

More recently we’ve seen the emergence of minimally (or micro) invasive glaucoma surgeries (MIGS). This new group of procedures include microscopic surgical techniques and specialized medical devices (like iStent®)  that help increase fluid drainage, while running a lower risk of scar tissue development than a traditional trabeculectomy.

Another new procedure in glaucoma treatment is selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) in which an eye surgeon directs laser energy at the eye’s drainage system.  It is believed the quick beam stimulates the release of enzymes to that area of the eye that subsequently improves drainage and, if effective, can be repeated.

At Hattiesburg Eye Clinic, we will assess your eye health and develop a personalized glaucoma treatment plan at our advanced eye care center in Hattiesburg, MS.

Glaucoma in most cases is a “silent” disease, especially at the onset. Most patients won’t notice any glaucoma symptoms (unless it’s a specialized form of the disease) until it reaches an advanced stage.

An ophthalmologist or optometrist, however, can detect elevated pressure or other disease-related abnormalities during a routine eye examination. That’s why we recommend annual screenings for adult patients over 40, with a family history of glaucoma or who are of African descent.

Glaucoma screening is a normal part of any routine eye exam. Besides assessing overall vision, the eye doctor will measure the level of intraocular pressure with specialized equipment. He or she may also view the optic nerve with an imaging device to assess its health or to detect any abnormalities.

Intraocular pressure is the pressure produced by the intraocular fluid within the eye. The eye creates and removes intraocular fluid normally at an equal rate. People with glaucoma, however, have a problem with removing excess fluid through their natural drainage system. This in turn causes the pressure to rise. Incidentally, it’s sometimes mistakenly equated with high blood pressure. But the two pressure measurements are separate and unrelated: in other words, you can have elevated intraocular pressure but not high blood pressure, and vice-versa.

Medically speaking, glaucoma and cataracts are not related. Cataracts are a clouding of the lens that occurs in everyone at some point if they live long enough.

But in a certain subset of patients, a developing cataract can cause the lens to become thicker, which decreases the available space in the eye. This can force the iris to move in front of the drain and block it off, causing an acute pressure rise and severe pain symptomatic of angle closure glaucoma.

There’s also a large patient population who have both developing cataracts and open angle glaucoma. In these cases, removing the cataracts, even a little earlier than usual, might help lower the intraocular pressure. There are also medical devices available that can be installed during a cataract surgery that will further aid pressure reduction.

There are no proven natural remedies currently available to treat glaucoma. The treatments that have proven most efficacious in reducing intraocular pressure are eye medicine drops, laser procedures for certain patients, and surgical procedures.

We may consider other treatments if a patient can’t tolerate eye drops due to allergies or if the drops are no longer effective in reducing intraocular pressure. At that point we may assess a patient to see if they’re a good candidate for a laser procedure called selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) procedures, or filtration procedures like trabeculectomy (also known as a filter) or a tube shunt.

A trabeculectomy or filter procedure is a traditional glaucoma surgery used to lower the pressure in the eye. The surgeon creates a small flap on the sclera to remove a piece of the inner wall of the eye. This allows the fluid in the eye to bypass the dysfunctional natural drain and escape through a new pathway.

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) is a non-invasive procedure used to treat open angle glaucoma. We direct laser energy at the natural drain of the eye in order to rejuvenate the system. It can help lower intraocular pressure for up to a few years, and if effective can be repeated.

A tube shunt is the most commonly performed traditional glaucoma surgery. A small tube is inserted into the eye and allows fluid to escape to a plate that is placed underneath the skin of the eye. The implant tube remains in the eye permanently to reduce pressure.

MIGS are a new classification of glaucoma surgery. It’s an umbrella term referring to multiple procedures including iStent, CyPass or Kahook Dual Blade. Most of these procedures are done at the time of cataract surgery. They’re less invasive than the traditional glaucoma surgeries and therefore are associated with less severe complications. However, they’re usually not as effective. MIGS are good options for people with mild to moderate disease and have a co-existing cataract.

iStent is a medical device that’s part of the family of MIGS pressure-reducing procedures. In effect, iStent is a trabecular meshwork bypass stent that’s placed in the natural drain of the eye at the time of cataract surgery. About the size of a letter on a penny, the stent helps reduce intraocular pressure by allowing the fluid to bypass the dysfunctional natural drain.

DURYSTA™ is a new method for reducing elevated eye pressure (caused by open angle glaucoma) that replaces daily eyedrops. These tiny implants (smaller than the letter “I” in LIBERTY on a U.S. dime) are inserted into each eye by a trained physician during a minor procedure. The implants contain a powerful pressure-reducing drug that slowly releases into the eyes as the implant gradually dissolves. Patients can receive several months or possibly years of eyedrop-free pressure reduction. Click here to learn more about DURYSTA™ implants.