Glaucoma Treatment
Glaucoma Treatment in Jacksonville, FL
Treatment Overview
A glaucoma diagnosis, like that of any condition, can be scary. At Jacksonville Eye Center, you are in capable, caring hands of specialists that not only utilize the latest technology but also has several decades’ of experience in the treatment of glaucoma. We will ensure that every step of your journey, from diagnosis to treatment will be as proficient as possible.
Our Glaucoma Doctor – Kevin Cronin, MD
Dr. Kevin Cronin is a board-certified ophthalmologist from Sarasota, Florida. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and his Doctor of Medicine from Wake Forest University. We are fortunate to have one of the best glaucoma doctors in Jacksonville right here in our practice. If you have been previously diagnosed with glaucoma and are seeking a second opinion now is a great time to come in for a glaucoma eye appointment. Dr. Cronin’s patients rave about his thoroughness, knowledge, compassion, and integrity. He puts his patients first and is a doctor you can trust. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Cronin please call our office at 904-355-5555 or submit an online request.
Glaucoma is the sneak thief of sight. Do not hesitate to schedule an eye appointment if you have a family history of glaucoma.
Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve, which is responsible for processing the images you see and sends them to your brain. When the optic nerve becomes damaged, it can cause gradual vision loss. Because of this, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness and often is not detected until the damage has begun to occur. This has earned glaucoma the nickname “the sneaky thief of sight.” If you have a family history of glaucoma, we encourage you to have regular eye exams to detect the onset of this eye disease before it becomes vision threatening.
When you are treated for glaucoma at Jacksonville Eye Center you are in the hands of one the regions finest glaucoma eye doctors.
Glaucoma Treatment Options
First Line of Glaucoma Treatment
It is not uncommon for a glaucoma specialist to start the treatment process with eye drop that lower intraocular pressure. When our patients are diagnosed with glaucoma, one of the most common treatment options is a glaucoma eye drop medication that lowers eye pressure, essentially preventing damage to the optic nerve and helping to preserve vision. Compliance with glaucoma eye drops is essential to preserving your vision. This is precisely the point at which many patients struggle.
Glaucoma Eye Drops
Prescription eye drops for glaucoma help maintain the pressure in your eye at a healthy level and are an important part of the treatment routine for many people. Be sure your doctor knows about any other drugs you may be taking (including over-the-counter items like vitamins, aspirin, and herbal supplements) and about any allergies you may have.
As any medications, these eye drops have side effects which can be tolerated by the many patients but sometimes due to general health of the patient, some types of eye drops can not be given. To minimize this side effect you should decrease the amount of eye drops that is absorbed to your blood stream by pressing on the corner or medial side of your eye near the nose after you apply the eye drops, so you can decrease the amount of drug that pass through the nasolacrimal ducts in which it can pass to your blood stream.
Education is perhaps the most important single means for improving compliance. A patient who is educated about the nature of glaucoma and its treatment is most likely to be a better patient, and correctly use their eye drops.
Second Line of Glaucoma Treatment
When eye drops no longer work to reduce your eye pressure, surgery is the next step. In some cases, severe side effects from the eye drops make surgery the next step in treating glaucoma.
Glaucoma Laser Procedures
SLT (Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty)
A common laser treatment for glaucoma is called selective laser trabeculoplasty, or SLT. Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) is becoming a widely accepted glaucoma treatment option. SLT offers a new horizon of hope for glaucoma patients. By using this laser technology, ophthalmologists can now lower pressure, thus potentially avoiding more invasive surgery down the line. SLT might even reduce the dependence on medications or drops in glaucoma patients. The surgical process typically involves numbing the eye with topical eye drops so that you will not feel the laser treatment. In SLT, laser treatment is applied to the drain of your eye in order to open it up and let fluid exit the eye more efficiently.
SLT treatment takes only a few minutes, is performed in the office (not the operating room), is safe, and effectively lowers eye pressure in most people. The treatment is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating glaucoma and is covered by essentially all insurance plans. After the procedure, anti-inflammatory drops are used. Laser surgery is still surgery, and can carry some risks. Some people experience a short-term increase in their intraocular pressure soon after surgery.
Third Line of Glaucoma Treatment
When you need something for very high intraocular eye pressure
MIGS (micro invasive glaucoma surgery)
XEN® Gel Stent
The XEN® Gel Stent is a surgical implant designed to lower high eye pressure in open-angle glaucoma patients where previous surgical treatment has failed and/or medications alone were insufficient (also known as refractory glaucoma).
Our treatment options advanced with the advent of micro invasive glaucoma surgeries (MIGS), which allow intervention for patients in earlier stages of glaucoma. However, the newest treatment for glaucoma, the XEN Gel Stent, allows us to treat patients with moderate to severe glaucoma, with less risk and much faster recovery time than the traditional trabeculectomy or tube shunt.
The XEN Gel Stent is a small implant, the size of an eyelash. Soft and easy to insert, it is injected right beneath the surface of the eye, shunting fluid directly to the subconjunctival space and ultimately relieving pressure.
