The era of intraocular drug delivery has started. A year ago, Allergan began shipping Ozurdex to the private sector. As with most of these “injections,” Ozurdex is injected into the vitreous cavity. Ozurdex releases the steroid dexamethasone for 4-6 months. Ozurdex for Retinal Vein Occlusions and Uveitis The mainstay of treatment for retinal vein occlusions … [Read more...]
Sometimes the Disease Wins
September 20, 2010 By 2 Comments
I have a patient, already blind in his right eye, who just suffered his third retinal detachment in the last 2 months in his remaining, left eye. I am operating, again, to try and prevent his going totally blind. I trained with a world famous and world class mentor, Steve Charles, M.D. of Memphis, TN. My fellowship lasted a year, where I learned my specialty, and … [Read more...]
Implantable Telescope Treats Macular Degeneration
August 10, 2010 By 12 Comments
A new implantable intraocular telescope is now available for patients with endstage macular degeneration. Patients with severe, bilateral (both eyes), loss of central vision caused by macular degeneration may now benefit from this tiny visual prosthesis. The company, VisionCare, received FDA approval for CentraSight just last week. How Does CentraSight Work? The … [Read more...]
Diabetes? 4 Things You Need to Know
August 6, 2010 By 1 Comment
I tell every new diabetic patient I meet 4 things: they are going to develop diabetic retinopathy regular eye exams prevent vision loss good sugar control doesn't save them and their other doctors are dead wrong. It is a message I have developed to hammer home the idea that diabetic retinopathy can be blinding and most doctors don't understand how this … [Read more...]
Retinal Detachments Can Blind
July 19, 2010 By 1 Comment
The natural history of a retinal detachment is blindness. "Natural history" of a disease is the same as the usual outcome. So, the usual outcome of a retinal detachment is complete blindness if eye surgery is not performed. Retinal Detachments Only Become Larger Retinal tears and holes cause a retinal detachment. A small amount of fluid goes through the tear and … [Read more...]
Your Eye Treatments
July 13, 2010 By 5 Comments
Eye drops are the most common form of medication for your eyes. There are also ointments (aka salves), pills and injectable medicines. The eye is unique in the many ways. It can be treated directly with medicines. Eye drops and ointments are the most common. Medications given by mouth or intravenous usually don't get into the eye well, due to the blood brain … [Read more...]
Does Sleep Cause Retinal Detachments?
July 7, 2010 By 1 Comment
I believe that REM sleep causes retinal tears and then subsequent retinal detachments, that is, I think most of the damage occurs while you are sleeping. While this would be hard to ever prove, there are some compelling arguments for my hypothesis. What is REM sleep? Rapid Eye Movement (REM) is a stage of sleep that occurs every night. During this stage of sleep, … [Read more...]
When To Stop Your Eye Treatment
June 18, 2010 By 1 Comment
The decision to stop your eye treatment for wet macular degeneration should be easy...and guilt free. The anti-VEGF injections (treatment for wet macular degeneration) require multiple injections and many trips to the office. Injections are often recommended for over a year. It can be a real hassle and becomes a hardship for the friends and family... and … [Read more...]
Sudden Vision Loss is Painless
June 8, 2010 By 10 Comments
True sudden vision loss can occur from a variety of reasons and are considered emergencies. Most commonly retinal disease is the culprit. Almost all causes of are painless. While both macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy can lead to blindness, they both usually do so slowly. There are exceptions. Vision Loss from Diabetes Vision lost from diabetic … [Read more...]
