The new Optic Nerve Imaging device takes a 3-dimensional image of the optic nerve in the back of the eye. This is the nerve that carries vision from the eye to the brain and is the part of the eye damaged in glaucoma. In a matter of seconds, as many as thirty million measurements are made of the optic nerve and its surrounding structures. The remarkable resulting images can be used to identify glaucoma and follow known glaucoma patients.
Corneal Thickness has been shown in an NIH-sponsored study to be of great importance in the care of glaucoma patients. Drs. Schwartz and Weiss and many of their patients at Washington Eye Physicians & Surgeons volunteered to participate in this study. Corneal Pachymetry measures the thickness of the cornea which has been found to influence the accuracy of pressure measurements. Corneal thickness also predicts which patients with high pressure are more likely to have damage to their optic nerves. This painless ultrasound test takes only a few minutes for our ophthalmic technicians to perform. Although Medicare does not cover the cost of corneal pachymetry, we have been able to hold our fee to a minimum to be sure it is affordable for all.
Dr. Arthur Schwartz was a pioneer in the development of laser trabeculoplasty. Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty lowers eye pressure by improving the fluid outflow from the eye. It is sometimes called a “cool laser” because the ultra-short pulses of very low energy generate no heat. Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty appears to have the same benefit as the classic treatment, argon laser trabeculoplasty, in lowering pressure, but without the heat damage and scarring. It is believed that SLT, unlike argon laser trabeculoplasty, may be repeated safely many times and may also be used in patients who have had previous argon laser trabeculoplasty. This glaucoma laser surgery has been performed successfully in thousands of ophthalmology patients throughout the world.
Improved eye drops, which are easier to use and may have fewer side effects, are another tool in the treatment of glaucoma. One of these, a once-a-day, highly effective medication called lantanoprost is related to a substance that occurs naturally in the human body and so is well tolerated by most patients.
Dr. Kenneth Schwartz is the expert in the placement of glaucoma drainage tubes for the treatment of advanced glaucoma. These microscopic devices allow fluid to flow from inside the eye to reduce elevated eye pressure in glaucoma.
Drs. Schwartz and Weiss have co-authored a chapter on Laser Treatment of Glaucoma for one of the major textbooks in ophthalmology, and all three, as well as Dr. Dawson, teach at Georgetown University and the Washington Hospital Center. For over twenty years, Dr. Weiss was the Civilian Glaucoma Consultant at Walter Reed Military Medical Center.
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