New Gentle Alternative For Glaucoma Therapy Announced By Surgeons of North Shore Eye Care
Smithtown, New York (PRWEB) February 25, 2014 -- Using gentle pulses of light delivered through a specially designed microscope, glaucoma specialists at North Shore Eye Care are able to significantly drop the intraocular pressure within patients eyes that causes glaucoma, according to Andrew Bainnson, M.D., a glaucoma specialist at North Shore Eye Care.
“Our Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) laser technique is a non-thermal, non-invasive procedure that that can be repeated if necessary to lower intraocular pressure within the eye,” said Dr. Bainnson, adding that previous approaches in laser therapy were either extremely limited or not repeatable.
According to Dr. Bainnson, patients who could benefit most from SLT treatment include: 1) Patients with primary open-angle, pseudoexfoliation, or pigmentary glaucoma; 2) Patients who are not tolerant to traditional glaucoma medications or treatment; 3) Patients who are currently undergoing glaucoma drug therapy and wish to combine it with SLT; Patients who find it difficult to commit to regular follow-up treatments due to finances, lack of transportation or other limitations; 4) And patients who have a history of failed Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty (ALT) treatments.
“Our SLT treatments have been very successful with the vast majority of our glaucoma patients,” said Glaucoma Specialist, Andrew Bainnson, MD. “Unfortunately, many patients who have glaucoma – and who could benefit from SLT – do not seek treatment because they are unaware they even have glaucoma.” Commonly called ‘The Sneak Thief of Sight,’ glaucoma continues to be one of the world’s leading causes of preventable blindness because there are very few warning signs. “Once vision loss from glaucoma has occurred, it is virtually impossible to restore at this time,” said Dr. Bainnson.
“Our SLT procedure lowers intraocular pressure by an average of 25% in 75-85% of patients treated,” Dr. Bainnson added. North Shore Eye Care offers other forms of treatment – including traditional drug therapy – which can still be highly effective in specific cases.
Glaucoma occurs when the eyes normal drainage system for aqueous fluid is blocked. This build-up of this blocked fluid – which is produced by the body to ensure the health of the lens and cornea – causes intraocular pressure within the eye to increase. This causes what is known as ‘open-angle’ glaucoma, which is the most common form of this vision-threatening disease.
To order to preserve eyesight, it is critically important for our surgeons to not only decrease the intraocular pressure, but to also control and maintain the eyes’ normal pressure. In addition to SLT, other treatment options include: 1) Drug therapy (drops), which is the most common treatment for open-angle glaucoma; 2) Surgery methods to create a new drainage channel, which is a highly invasive procedure; 3) Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty, which was formerly one of the most widely used laser treatments for glaucoma, but carried many risks and possible complications.
Because glaucoma continues to be one of our country’s leading causes of blindness, it is important for adults to have their vision checked for glaucoma on a regular basis. This is especially true in families with a history of glaucoma, patients of African-American descent and patients who may be experiencing vision loss or changes in their vision.
North Shore Eye Care is Long Island’s most established full-service comprehensive eye care provider. This year they are celebrating 50 years of eye care excellence since Dr. Sidney Martin founded the practice in 1962. North Shore Eye Care is also the official Eye Care Provider for the New York Islanders and the official LASIK Providers of the New York Mets. Many of their doctors have been voted ‘TOP DOCTORS’ in the New York Metro Area by Castle Connolly and North Shore Eye Care has earned ‘Best Of Long Island’ honors for the past few years.
North Shore Eye Care maintains offices in Smithtown, Riverhead, Holbrook, Deer Park, Southampton and Southold. They specialize in cataract care, LASIK laser vision correction, glaucoma management, diabetic eye disease, oculoplastics and retinal care.For more information about North Shore Eye Care.
Jacqueline Hernandez, North Shore Eye Care, http://www.nseye.com, 631-265-8780, [email protected]
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