EYE DISEASES

Myopia 

What is Myopia? 

How is “Laser Treatment”, one of the treatment types, performed?

Myopia is a state of nearsightedness caused by some structural defects in the eye. One of the alternatives to myopia treatment is the use of glasses and contact lenses. However, these are not permanent solutions.

The permanent solution for myopia disease is laser refractive surgery. Laser-specific intraocular lens surgeries are performed for the eyes of the patients that are not suitable for myopia surgery.

Today, LASIK or PRK according to eye structure is the most widely used method for the treatment of refractive errors, myopiahyperopia, and astigmatism. The LASIK method is mostly used for myopia treatment. There are many types of laser used in the treatment of eye diseases. The laser used in the treatment of refractive errors is an excimer laser.

Lasik method is the removal of a thin layer on the upper surface of the cornea as a cover and the correction of the eye numbers by applying “excimer laser” to the corneal surface.

Excimer laser myopia surgery is a laser with a wavelength of 192 nm and shows its effect by thinning certain parts of the cornea with organic reactions during application. There are different application methods according to the condition of the patient and the defect in the eye. Applications are done automatically under computer control.

LASIK Technique can be applied up to 1-10 diopters of myopia. The success rate is 98%. After the age of 18, it can be applied to any eye with a corneal thickness above 500 microns and a smooth cornea.

Laser therapy is an FDA-approved, safe technology. There is no risk of blindness. Laser treatment can be applied a second time if your eye structure is suitable. Cataract surgery can be performed after laser treatment.

Laser surgery for eyes with myopia up to 10 diopters, hypermetropia, and astigmatism up to 7 diopters and whose examination result is suitable for laser.

Laser myopia treatment is applied to the cornea and there is no damage to the retinal layer. It is not a painful and bleeding treatment. Since anesthesia is applied with drops during laser treatment, no pain or ache is felt. Eye drops should be used for a while after laser treatment. You can return to your normal life the next day.

There is no risk if it is applied by an experienced physician.

Who Can Have Myopia Treatment With Laser?

Those who are over 18 years of age,

Those whose eye numbers have not changed more than 0.50 diopters in the last 1 year,

Those who have myopia up to 10 diopters,

Those who have astigmatism and hyperopia up to 7 diopters,

Those whose corneal tissue thickness is sufficient,

Those who do not have systematic diseases such as diabetes and rheumatism,

Those who do not have any other diseases in their eyes (corneal sharpening, eye pressure, etc.),

As a result of preliminary examinations and tests, those whose eye structure is suitable for surgery can be treated with laser.

Who Cannot Have Myopia Treatment With Laser?

Those with thin corneas,

Those with keratoconus disease,

Those with cataracts,

Those who have eye damage due to Diabetes.

Myopia Intraocular Lens (PHAKIC LENS):

We apply an advanced technology intraocular lens to eyes whose structure cannot be treated with laser. These lenses are produced to be placed between the iris, which is the colored part of the eye, and the natural lens. Once placed, they work in conjunction with the eye’s normal focusing system to provide good vision.

 

CATARACT

cataract is the loss of transparency of the lens in our eyes. The most important reason is aging. Besides, cataracts can also develop due to inflammation in the eye (uveitis), trauma, and cortisone use. If a cataract causes a decrease in vision that affects the social and business life of the patient, surgery is required.

Cataract surgery is extremely comfortable, can be performed under local anesthesia, and takes about 15 minutes. With the phacoemulsification method we use, the eye is entered through a hole of approximately 2 mm, and the lens is cleaned by dividing it into small pieces.

The patient returns to his normal life within three days after the procedure. However, there is a three-week follow-up period after the procedure.

After cataract surgery, a new lens should be placed in the eye to allow the patient to see. There are different alternatives in this regard. By placing a single focus lens on the patient, a clear vision can be achieved. In this case, the patient will need reading glasses to see near distance.

The other alternative is multifocal intraocular lenses. These lenses offer the patient a life without glasses by providing sufficient vision at a distance and near distance. Multifocal intraocular lens implantation should be performed in both eyes.

EYE PRESSURE (GLAUCOMA)

When the person’s eye pressure is high (over 19-20 mmHg), glaucoma is suspected and some tests are requested. The purpose of these examinations is to understand whether eye pressure causes any damage to the eye. If there is no damage, the diagnosis is Ocular Hypertension. In this case, it is necessary to initiate an appropriate treatment to reduce eye pressure. Glaucoma is diagnosed in case of disease-specific damage to the eye.

This disease begins to be seen commonly in people in their forties. Over the age of 40, 2 out of 100 people have this disease. If this disease is not diagnosed and treated, serious vision loss begins to occur within a period of 10 years.

The most important characteristic of PRIMARY OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA, or better known as EYE PRESSURE, is that it harms the eye insidiously without causing any complaints. It is not possible to understand when it started and what damage it caused in the early period. It can only be diagnosed with regular eye examinations.

Apart from high eye pressure and age, the most important risk factor of the disease is genetic predisposition. Those who have first degree relatives with Eye Pressure disease are at 10-15 times higher risk. Apart from this, myopia, thin cornea, systemic vascular diseases, low blood pressure, migraine can be counted among important risk factors.

The upper normal limit of eye pressure is around 19-20 mmHg. Age-related blockages occur in the outflow paths of intraocular fluid and pressure increases. This situation begins to damage the optic nerve, which provides communication between the eye and the visual center in the brain. The damage progresses slowly and insidiously, and if action is not taken, the result can lead to blindness.

The important thing is to detect the presence of the disease. Therefore, everyone should have a regular eye examination at least once a year from the age of 40.

CORNEA TRANSPLANTATION

The cornea is a transparent tissue located outmost of the eye. One of the basic conditions for good visual acuity is a healthy cornea. Infections, injuries, congenital or degenerative diseases, traumatic intraocular surgical procedures disrupt the corneal transparency and negatively affect vision. In these patients, corneas obtained from eye banks are replaced with diseased tissue, this intervention is called cornea transplantation 

FARSIGHTEDNESS PROBLEM

Farsightedness problems begin in the vast majority of people between the ages of 40-45. In fact, this is a part of the aging process of the eye and its lens. For our eyes to focus near, a muscle in the eye must contract and the elastic lens of the eye must thicken and enable us to see the near field clearly. Like all organs in our body, our lens loses its elasticity due to age, which is why we start to not see well. Measures such as moving the object we are looking away at first and increasing the lighting while reading are useful, but after a while, it becomes almost impossible to see near.

The simplest solution to eliminate this situation is to use reading glasses. The most important thing when recommending glasses to a patient is timing and each patient should be individually evaluated according to their needs. Shortly after the glasses are started, the patient will never be able to see as near as they can with the naked eye again.

Reading glasses negatively affects the quality of life of the middle-aged patient group, especially those who have an active lifestyle.

There are two types of glasses for patients who have distant vision problems due to various eye disorders and who wear glasses. Distance and reading glasses can be separately or progressive glasses that combine distance and near correction in single glasses can be used. This option can be preferred in patients who already wear glasses, as it eliminates the second glasses stress.

The second non-invasive solution other than glasses is contact lenses. Very successful results can be obtained with multifocal contact lenses of different designs and the patient can live a life independent of glasses. The most important point here is to comply with the contact lens usage rules.

Another method for solving farsightedness problems is Excimer laser procedures. Although the method called Supracore gives promising results, what our patients need to know is that there is no FDA-approved laser technique for farsightedness correction yet.

The most recent innovation in the solution of a farsightedness problem is multifocal intraocular lenses. The intraocular lens industry has created a new application area for us by introducing 3-focus lenses. Patients who already have cataracts and require surgery can either become farsighted with a single-focal lens and use glasses for near, or they can be able to see far-intermediate distance and near without glasses with these new technology lenses.

 YELLOW SPOT DISEASE (MACULAR DEGENERATION)

The area known as the yellow spot is the macular area of the retina that provides us with the sharpest vision. The disease, called yellow spot disease, is a degenerative clinical picture affecting the tissue of this region due to a number of risk factors.

The most important risk factor is age. It is common over the age of 60. Smoking, family history, obesity, and hypertension are other important risk factors.

The first symptom that patients notice is seeing the objects and lines they look at as curved lines.

There are 2 clinical types, dry and wet. Dry-type progresses slowly, progress can be slowed or stopped with treatment. Wet type causes rapid vision loss, so urgent intervention is required.

CONTACT LENS

Today, the contact lens industry has produced options for all known eye disorders. Patients with myopiahypermetropiaastigmatism, and near vision problems can use contact lenses. Contact lens use starts at the age of 13-14.

Silicone hydrogel lens can be used safely because of their optical properties and their low risk of infection.

The first condition of using healthy lenses is a correct scientific application. Appropriateness and diopter should be determined by a specialist physician and periodic follow-up should not be disrupted.

 

 SWELLING, ITCHING, WATERING

There is a painful local swelling with redness on the lower or upper eyelid. It is a microbial infection of the sebaceous glands in the eyelid structure. If it is ignored and not treated correctly, it often recurs. In some of the hordeolum cases that are not treated correctly, pain and redness stop, but a cyst develops at the site of infection. In this case, that cyst will have to be removed with an operation.

The most important reason for eye itching and scrubbing is allergic eye diseases.

Seasonal allergy is usually seen with sneezing and runny nose in spring, although it is not a prerequisite. Redness, watering, and itching are significant findings. Sometimes it should be controlled with only eye drops and sometimes with systemic antiallergic medications.

Another allergic picture is Vernal conjunctivitis, which starts around the age of 4-5 in children and recurs every summer. It continues until the age of 18-20. These children are required to receive preventive drip treatment during the allergy season.

Creams and cosmetics that come into contact with the eyes and eye contour can also cause an allergic reaction. In this case, the important thing is to find and remove the cause of the allergy.

Eye-watering in adults may be due to 2 reasons. Tear production has increased due to some eye surface diseases or a blockage has developed in the ducts that drain the tears into the nasal cavity. If it is neglected, painful swelling occurs in the nasal root due to tear sac inflammation in tear duct obstruction. The cause of the eye-watering can only be revealed by a detailed eye examination.

 

 LASER

Excimer Laser technology, which we use more and more every day to correct refractive defects, is developing rapidly and more successful results are obtained. The answer to the problem depends on the level of refractive error and the structural features of the patient’s corneal tissue. Theoretically, myopia up to 10 diopters and astigmatism up to 4 diopters can be corrected, but the structure of the cornea should be suitable for this correction. If it is applied to an unsuitable eye, very serious complications may develop. Therefore, a detailed preliminary examination and topographical examination is crucial.

If you wanted to more information on eye diseases Istanbul you can contact our international patient coordinators, who can speak English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and French, are obtainable 24/7, and are always ready to help.