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Laser Surgery
At the Eye Center of St. Augustine, we are proud to offer our patients convenience and comfort in our onsite outpatient surgery center. Our dedicated and experienced eye doctors offer a variety of laser surgery procedures and treatments to help improve vision or prevent the progression of certain eye conditions.
Secondary Cataracts
Cataracts cannot return once your natural lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. However, you may develop posterior capsule opacification, or PCO, also known as secondary cataracts.
PCO is scar tissue that forms on the back of the bag that holds your new artificial lens in place after cataract surgery. PCO or secondary cataracts can cause many similar symptoms to cataracts, including blurry vision and glare.
However, there is a simple laser procedure that can be done to remove this scar tissue and improve your symptoms. This procedure is called a YAG laser capsulotomy.
During a YAG laser capsulotomy, your eye doctor will use a special laser to remove this scar tissue. The procedure is quick and easy, and you will likely notice an improvement in your vision immediately after.
Diabetic Retinopathy
If you have advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy, your eye doctor may recommend laser treatment to prevent the formation of new blood vessels. Diabetic retinopathy can cause severe vision loss if left untreated.
Using lasers, your eye doctor at Eye Center of St. Augustine can stabilize the changes happening at the back of your eye and help prevent the eye condition from progressing. Treating these new blood vessels can prevent them from leaking or continuing to grow.
Through this, it also lessens your chances of having a retinal detachment. Although laser treatment may not restore vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, it can often prevent you from losing more vision.
Glaucoma
There are many ways that eye doctors can utilize laser technology to treat glaucoma and lower eye pressure. However, laser surgery best accomplishes this goal in certain types of glaucoma.
For example, your eye doctor may recommend a trabeculoplasty if you have open-angle glaucoma. During a trabeculoplasty, your eye doctor will use a laser to create a wider opening in the drainage channel in your eye.
This procedure will create a broader opening so that fluid can flow out of your eye more easily, which can lower your eye pressure. If your eye doctor thinks it will help treat your glaucoma and reduce your eye pressure, they may recommend a laser procedure.
Retinal Vein Occlusions
A retinal vein occlusion is a blockage in a vein in your retina. Your retina is primarily responsible for gathering information from light that enters your eye.
When the retinal vein becomes blocked, blood is prevented from draining from the retina. This can cause numerous issues, including the formation of new blood vessels.
A retinal vein occlusion can cause blurry vision or even complete vision loss in one eye. To treat this eye condition, eye doctors at the Eye Center of St. Augustine use various laser procedures.
If your eye is beginning to grow new blood vessels, laser treatment can help prevent the new blood vessels from leaking or from other ones forming. In this case, laser procedures may help improve your vision.
Most people notice an improvement in their vision within a few months of the laser procedure. However, in some cases, laser treatment may not improve vision.
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration is an age-related eye condition that can cause progressive vision loss. One of the treatment methods that eye doctors use to help halt the progression of the eye condition and prevent further vision loss is laser therapy.
Laser procedures are typically reserved for the treatment of macular degeneration in its advanced stages, known as wet macular degeneration. During laser treatment for wet macular degeneration, your eye doctor at the Eye Center of St. Augustine uses a special laser to stop the formation of new blood vessels or to stop them from leaking.
Laser treatment will not restore vision lost due to macular degeneration in all cases. However, it can inhibit the eye condition from progressing further.
Are you interested in learning more about the laser procedures available at the Eye Center of St. Augustine that can help treat your eye condition or improve your vision? Schedule an appointment at the Eye Center of St. Augustine in St. Augustine, FL, today!
Laser Vitreolysis for Floaters
Laser vitreolysis is a procedure that uses a specialized laser to break up vitreous (eye) floaters. Floaters are tiny clumps of gel or cells that float inside the vitreous in your eye.
They can look like specks, lines, dots, circles, or cobwebs interrupting your vision. Although they can be frustrating, laser treatment isn’t always necessary for floaters.
However, if they begin to affect your ability to do daily activities like reading and driving, it may be time to consider laser vitreolysis. During the laser vitreolysis procedure, Dr. Tammaro at the Eye Center of St. Augustine will use a YAG laser to target and break up the collagen molecules in your floaters.
This makes them smaller, less noticeable, and less likely to impact your vision. Using a YAG laser lets your eye doctor see both the retina and floaters more clearly during treatment, ensuring your laser vitreolysis procedure is as accurate and safe as possible.
The procedure takes around 10-15 minutes to complete, depending on the number and size of your eye floaters. If you think you may need treatment for your floaters, you should schedule an appointment with your eye doctor at Eye Center of St. Augustine.
They will examine your eyes and review your symptoms to determine if laser vitreolysis is right for you.
