Understanding Glaucoma
Glaucoma Doctors In New York

Over five million people in the United States suffer from glaucoma, one of the leading cause of blindness in this country. In most cases, loss of sight from glaucoma is preventable, making early detection and treatment so important.

Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve, which becomes damaged from a build up of fluid and pressure inside the eye. Although the earliest sign of glaucoma is usually elevated intraocular pressure, many patients do not demonstrate this elevation but sustain optic nerve damage from what is considered a normal pressure. Detection of this and other types of glaucoma rely on detecting a change in the shape of the optic nerve and a loss of parts of your field of vision.

Our office uses a special digital camera to document and follow changes in optic nerve shape, and two computerized analyzers to detect the earliest sign of visual field loss. Although eye drops to lower intraocular pressure are usually sufficient to control glaucoma and prevent vision loss, laser treatment is sometimes needed if eye drops are not effective. With two different lasers to treat glaucoma, and a variety of eye drops to lower intraocular pressure, it is the rare patient who requires eye surgery for glaucoma.

• We advise a yearly check up for most patients over age 50, or for younger patients with a strong family history of glaucoma.
• African Americans and Hispanic Americans have a four-fold increased risk of developing glaucoma and should be checked yearly after age 35.