Glaucoma Treatment

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a progressive thinning of the optic nerve which can lead to silent, permanent blindness. At present, glaucoma is not curable; however, treatment can significantly slow the progression of the disease. Glaucoma damages the optic nerves of your eyes. Reducing the pressure inside the eye is the primary objective of any glaucoma treatment. This pressure is often referred to as intraocular pressure. 
 

What are the Treatment Options for Glaucoma?

Eye drops are the most common and usually the first line of treatment when it comes to slowing the progression of glaucoma. Certain eye drops can be more effective for different individuals, so changes are occasionally needed to ensure optimized reduction in eye pressure. This is the reason that keeping regular appointments with your eye doctor is imperative so that if irreversible damage to the eye is occurring, treatment can be modified. 
 

Alternatives to Drops

On rare occasions, the use of eye drops will not provide sufficient management of eye pressure. In such cases, our doctors will collaborate with a specialist to ensure proper treatment. These advanced procedures aim to improve flow throughout the eye and include: laser, implantable devices, and Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS). These new techniques minimize tissue scarring, allowing for the possibility of traditional glaucoma surgery in the future if needed. They also give doctors the opportunity to treat patients earlier and more safely than older surgeries. If you have a glaucoma diagnosis, you can feel confident that your glaucoma treatment options are only going to improve in the years ahead. Although the disease is not curable, it is very manageable with the right treatment.