Other Eye Conditions

Post Cataract Surgery Haze

Treatment: YAG Laser Capsulotomy

A thin membrane called the lens capsule surrounds the natural lens of the human eye. In modern cataract surgery, when the cloudy lens of the eye is removed the back surface of the lens capsule is intentionally left intact to help support the intraocular lens (which is implanted to replace the natural lens), and to maintain the natural separation between the front and back chambers of the eye.

This capsule is normally clear. But, with the passage of time, the capsule can become cloudy or wrinkled, which is normal occurrence as part of the body’s natural healing process. The wrinkling or cloudiness can interfere with vision in ways similar to the original cataract. Not everyone will experience capsule haziness; however, in 40 to 50% of eyes the posterior capsule will eventually become hazy.

When the haziness reaches a point where it reduced the patient’s vision, a laser is used to make a small opening in this membrane so that the patient can once again see clearly. This procedure is totally painless, requires only anesthetic eye drops, takes only a few minutes and virtually never needs to be repeated.

In preparation for laser surgery, your eye will be dilated and anesthetic eye drops will be instilled. During the laser surgery, you may hear a clicking sound and observe a flashing light. These sensations are entirely normal during YAG laser surgery. After the treatment, you will normally see clearly within a few hours and can resume normal activities immediately. Your vision may continue to improve in the days and weeks following the procedure.

Strabismus

A condition in which the visual axes of the eyes are not parallel and the eyes appear to be looking in different directions. In divergent strabismus, or exotropia, the visual axes diverge. If the visual axes converge, it is called convergent strabismus or esotropia. The danger with strabismus is that the brain cones may come to rely more on one eye than the other and that part of the brain circuitry connected to the less-favored eye fails to develop properly, leading to amblyopia (blindness) in that eye.

Treatment: The classic treatment for mild-to-moderate strabismus has long been an eyepatch, covering the stronger eye with a patch, forcing the weaker eye to do enough work to catch up. However, eyedrops can work as well as an eyepatch in correcting moderate lazy eye and preventing the development of amblyopia (blindness). Atropine eyedrops are instilled daily in the stronger (dominant) eye. The atropine works by blurring rather than blocking vision in the stronger eye.

Severe strabismus may require surgery. The surgery is designed to increase or decrease the tension of the small muscles outside the eye. (These muscles are called the extraocular eye muscles. The six extraocular eye muscles move the eye in all directions.) When strabismus surgery is needed, the sooner it is done, the better the chance of the child achieving normal binocular vision.