Ophthalmology

Milford Regional's highly skilled ophthalmologists have years of experience in providing excellent care of our patient’s eyesight. As we age, it is important to have an annual eye exam to maintain healthy eyes. If your ophthalmologist recommends surgery to correct an eye problem, Milford Regional’s state-of–the-art surgical equipment, lasers and superbly trained surgical assistants all help to achieve the greatest success.

Some of the most common eye conditions that may require surgery include:

Cataracts

A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision. The lens is a clear part of the eye that helps to focus light, or an image, on the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. In a normal eye, light passes through the transparent lens to the retina. Once it reaches the retina, light is changed into nerve signals that are sent to the brain. The lens must be clear for the retina to receive a sharp image. If the lens is cloudy from a cataract, the image you see will be blurred.

Most cataracts are related to aging. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. The symptoms of cataracts include blurred vision, faded colors, glare or a halo from lights, or double vision. Some of these symptoms may improve with new eyeglasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses, or magnifying lenses. If these measures do not help, surgery is the only effective treatment. Surgery involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. Cataract removal is one of the most common operations performed in the United States. It also is one of the safest and most effective types of surgery.

Corneal Disease and Refractive Errors

Your cornea is the transparent, dome-shaped surface of your eye that accounts for a large part of your eye's focusing power. A number of conditions can be treated with a corneal transplant, including swelling, clouding, or thinning of the cornea, a cornea that bulges outward (keratoconus), or corneal scarring caused by infection or injury. A corneal transplant can be used to replace all or partial layers of the cornea depending on your condition. Most often corneal transplants are performed in our surgical day center, allowing the patient to return home on the same day.

Refractive Surgery aims to change the shape of the cornea permanently. This change in eye shape restores the focusing power of the eye by allowing the light rays to focus precisely on the retina for improved vision. Many people opt to correct their vision with eyeglasses or contacts, while others decide to undergo surgery. There are many types of refractive surgeries that are performed in your doctor’s office. Your ophthalmologist can help you decide if surgery is an option for you.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye and a healthy retina is necessary for good vision.

During the initial stages of diabetic retinopathy, no treatment is usually needed, unless you have macular edema. The macula is the part of the retina that provides sharp central vision. Macular edema is swelling of the macula from leaking fluid.

Proliferative retinopathy, the most advanced stage of diabetic retinopathy, is where new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina and can bleed into the eye and block vision. This is often treated with laser surgery which helps to shrink the abnormal blood vessels.

If the bleeding is severe, you may need a surgical procedure called a vitrectomy. During a vitrectomy, blood is removed from the center of your eye. Your doctor makes a tiny incision in your eye and a small instrument is used to remove the vitreous gel that is clouded with blood.

To prevent progression of diabetic retinopathy, people with diabetes need to control their levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol. If you have diabetes, get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. Proliferative retinopathy and macular edema can develop without symptoms and if you develop either condition, you are at high risk for vision loss. If you have diabetic retinopathy, you may need an eye exam more often. People with proliferative retinopathy can reduce their risk of blindness by 95 percent with timely treatment and appropriate follow-up care.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve and can result in vision loss, if left untreated. There are two main types; open and closed angle glaucoma. Both types of glaucoma can be detected during a thorough eye examination. By age 80, 10% of Americans will have developed glaucoma. Thankfully, we usually do very well in preventing loss of vision by treating glaucoma with eye drops, laser surgery and conventional surgery.

Your ophthalmologist may suggest a surgery called laser trabeculoplasty which helps fluid drain out of the eye. Milford Regional has a dedicated laser room which houses the only selective laser trabeculoplasty machine in the Milford area. Many ophthalmologists prefer this treatment because it causes the least amount of trauma to the meshwork where the fluid drains.