Medical

What’s a Multifocal Intraocular Lens?

A cataract clouds the eye’s natural lens, leading to significant visual distortions that can affect your ability to see clearly. Eventually, the natural lens will need to be removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL) that provides clear vision.

While most patients pick monofocal IOLs, many patients choose multifocal IOL lenses. Discuss with your [eye_ doctor] which type of IOL is right for you.

What Is a Multifocal Intraocular Lens?

A multifocal IOL allows patients to see all distances clearly. These IOLs allocate different optical powers on the IOL. The varying optical powers are created by the IOL design, which incorporates concentric rings on the surface of the lens. These allow images at a variety of distances to be in sharp focus.

It can take some time for people to adapt to multifocal IOL lenses because the focusing power the lenses provide is different from what people are accustomed to. Since the IOL relies on a different design than the bifocal or multifocal optical lenses used in eyeglasses, the brain might need time to adjust.

To ease the adjustment, most cataract surgeons recommend having multifocal IOLs implanted in both eyes, rather than just one.

Are Multifocal IOLs Right for You?

If you are looking for an IOL that can provide you with clear vision for reading, driving and watching TV, a multifocal IOL may be just right for you.

After cataract surgery, multifocal IOLs can reduce the need for reading glasses or computer glasses. These implanted lenses widen your field of vision, allowing you to see well both up close and far, often without the use of glasses. Many patients who choose multifocal IOLs find that they can go glasses-free or only occasionally need reading glasses for small print after surgery.

Despite the obvious benefits of these lenses, they may not be suitable for everyone. Some patients find that it takes longer to adapt to multifocal lenses than to monofocal lenses. Contact to discover whether IOL multifocal lenses are right for you.

Q: How does a multifocal IOL work?

• A: When wearing bifocal or multifocal glasses, you look through the bottom part of the lens for near vision and through the top part of the lens for distance vision. A multifocal IOL is specially designed to provide clear vision at all distances at all times. Your brain adjusts, allowing you to see clearly for the task at hand.

Q: Will a multifocal IOL eliminate the need for glasses?

• A: Most people find they do not need glasses with multifocal IOLs, but some do, depending on the situation. There may be times when the print or graphics are simply too small or too far away to be seen without glasses.
• serves patients from Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma City, and Fort Smith, AK, Oklahoma and surrounding communities.

What Causes Retinal Tears?

The retina is the light-sensitive tissue that lines the inner back portion of the eye. It is responsible for gathering incoming light and sending images to the brain so they can be processed.

Retinal tears occur when the delicate tissue gets pulled, creating a hole or tear in the retina. They need to be taken seriously because they can lead to a more severe condition called retinal detachment, which is considered a sight-threatening medical emergency.

What are the Symptoms of Retinal Tears?

Patients with retinal tears will often experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• Flashes of light
• Sudden onset or increase of floaters
• Seeing a shadow in your side vision
• Blurred vision
• Seeing a gray curtain moving across your visual field

However, in some cases, retinal tears may not produce any noticeable symptoms.

What Conditions Can Cause Retinal Tears?

The eye is filled with a substance called vitreous. At birth, the vitreous is attached to the retina and has a gel consistency. As we age, the vitreous becomes more like a liquid and slowly detaches from the retina in a process called posterior vitreous detachment (PVD).

Usually, this process occurs without any complications. If the vitreous detaches too suddenly or abnormally, it tugs on the retina and can tear it. Additionally, some people have a more “sticky” vitreous, which makes it easier for the retina to rip.

Another main cause of retinal tears is eye trauma. Blunt force eye trauma can cause the retina to become bruised or scarred, making it more vulnerable to tearing.

Other associated causes or risk factors of retinal tears include:

• Diabetes
• Personal or family history of retinal tears/detachment
• Retinal degeneration
• Inflammatory disorders
• Certain cancers
• Autoimmune diseases
• High myopia
• Sickle cell disease
• Retinopathy of prematurity
• Prior surgery within the eye

Be sure to disclose any relevant medical information to your eye doctor for optimal preventative eye care.

How are Retinal Tears Treated?

Retinal tears are typically treated surgically with a laser (photocoagulation) or cryotherapy. Both methods are considered very safe and effective.

These treatments reseal the retina to the back wall of the eye and prevent fluid leakage underneath the retina.

The prognosis of a retinal tear is very positive when caught early, making regular eye exams that include examination of the retina crucial for all adults.

In some cases of minor retinal tearing, no treatment is required. If the retinal tear causes no symptoms, close monitoring may be all that’s needed.

After Your Retinal Tear Has Been Treated

After treatment, your optometrist will schedule various eye exams in order to monitor any changes in your retinas or eye health. Inform your eye doctor immediately if you notice any changes in your vision or if you experience new symptoms that may signal a problem.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a retinal tear or is at risk of developing one, call to schedule a consultation.

serves patients from Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma City, and Fort Smith, AK, Oklahoma and surrounding communities.

References

• https://www.verywellhealth.com/retinal-tear-4773066
• https://www.asrs.org/patients/retinal-diseases/26/retinal-tears

What Is Excess Eye Fluid?

Collagen, water and protein make up the majority of the human eye, and tears are always present to help keep the eye moist. However, surplus fluid can occasionally accumulate inside the eye and signal a serious eye problem.

Several factors may contribute to this problem.

There are two primary sources of fluid inside the eye. The first is needed to flush out waste products from behind the cornea, leading it to flow out from the eye through the anterior angle. The second type of fluid is found in blood vessels that nourish the retina and macula at the back of the eye.

Conditions that Cause Excess Eye Fluid

Several conditions can result in excess eye fluid, and each is managed and treated in its own way to prevent eye damage and vision loss. These conditions include:

Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration is the deterioration of the central part of the retina, called the macula. Fluid build-up on the macula causes the wet form of macular degeneration, which affects central vision and the ability to see fine details. This usually occurs when very fragile new blood vessels form in the retina. These abnormal blood vessels leak fluid, made up of plasma and blood into the retina.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma develops when the eye’s drainage system becomes clogged, inhibiting the flow of fluid through the anterior angle and causing fluid to accumulate in the eye. Glaucoma can also develop when the eye produces more fluid than usual and is unable to drain it quickly enough. In both cases, as the fluid builds up inside the eye, the pressure inside the eye rises, potentially damaging the nerve fibers that send all our visual signals from the eye to the brain. The optic disc becomes hollow and cupped as a result of the injured nerves.

Glaucoma will progress if extra fluid continues to collect in the eye, and can lead to serious vision loss or blindness if left untreated.

Macular Edema

Macular edema occurs when there is a build-up of fluid in the macula. The macula is positioned in the middle of the retina, which is the neural tissue at the back of the eye that sends the light signals to the brain and allows you to see.

Damaged blood vessels in the retina cause fluid to accumulate in the macula. This leads to compromised vision, with common symptoms including blurred or wavy vision in the center of your field of vision.

Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic macular edema is a result of diabetic retinopathy. There are two types of diabetic retinopathy, based on the stage of the disease: nonproliferative retinopathy (when blood vessels in the retina enlarge and leak) and proliferative retinopathy (when abnormal new blood vessels form on the retina).

Blurred or double vision, as well as floating, dark patches in your vision, are all common symptoms of diabetic macular edema.

Central Serous Retinopathy

Central serous retinopathy occurs when fluid accumulates behind the retina. The fluid buildup is caused by leaking from the layer of blood vessels beneath the retina (choroid).

When the retinal pigment epithelium, the layer between the retina and the choroid, fails to function properly, fluid builds up behind the retina, causing the retina to detach and vision to be impaired. Symptoms include dimmed, distorted or blurred vision, as well as straight lines seeming crooked or bent.

Treatment for Excess Eye Fluid

Treatments often include reducing pressure produced by fluid buildup and treating the underlying cause of the buildup.

In diabetic macular edema, for example, your eye doctor will recommend treatment for your diabetes along with treatment for the retinal impairment that is causing fluid buildup.

In some circumstances, surgery may be required. For instance, glaucoma patients may require surgery to create a new opening from the eye through which fluid can drain. Certain medications can also assist in fluid drainage from the eye, which works to lower the pressure inside the eye or causes the eye to produce less fluid.

Intravitreal injection is a treatment used when there is a buildup of fluid in or under the retina. Anti-VEGF medications absorb fluid and stop fluid/blood from leaking out of blood vessels, which is a common occurrence in both macular edema and wet macular degeneration.

If you have signs of fluid buildup, it’s essential to promptly speak with your eye doctor. Treatment will be more successful once the underlying disease is identified.

Contact today. We’ll be happy to assist you in identifying the source of the problem and direct you to the appropriate treatment.

serves patients from Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma City, and Fort Smith, AK, Oklahoma and surrounding communities.

Q: What is wet macular degeneration?

• A: Wet macular degeneration is an eye disease that causes blurred vision or a blind spot in your visual field. It is caused by abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid or blood into the macula, the section of the retina responsible for central vision. Symptoms like visual distortions and increased blurred vision tend to appear suddenly and quickly worsen.

Q: What other conditions can cause excess fluid in the eye?

• A: Other conditions that may cause excess fluid in the eye include:
• – Choroidal effusion – the buildup of fluid between the choroid, the sclera, and a layer of blood vessels on top of the retina.
  – A retinal tear – may cause fluid to accumulate and lead the retina to detach.
  – Chemosis – a swelling of the eye due to accumulation of fluid often caused by allergies or eye infection.

Sugar, Diabetes & Glaucoma – What’s the Connection?

Diabetes is a disease caused by the body’s inability to use or produce insulin. Insulin is the hormone responsible for taking sugar out of the blood and placing it into cells, where it is used to create energy. When the body can’t use or produce sufficient insulin, it causes sugar levels to rise too high.

A common complication for people with diabetes is diabetic eye disease, a group of sight-threatening eye problems. Glaucoma is one of these diseases.

In fact, having diabetes doubles your risk of developing glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness worldwide. It is caused by pressure build-up within the eye, which leads to permanent damage to the retina and the optic nerve.

If you have diabetes, it’s important to manage your condition in order to preserve your eyesight.

How Diabetes Affects Your Eyes

Diabetes affects your body’s ability to maintain normal blood sugar levels. If your blood sugar rises too high, it can place stress on major organs, including your eyes and kidneys.

The vast majority of glaucoma cases present no symptoms until irreversible vision loss has occurred. Fortunately, your eye doctor can detect sight-threatening eye diseases early on by examining the retina and optic nerve. Left untreated, glaucoma can seriously impair your vision, or leave you partially or completely blind.

Importance of an Eye Exam

To limit the impact of diabetes on your vision, schedule regular visits to your eye doctor. This will enable your eye doctor to assess your eyes and diagnose any diabetes-related vision problems as early as possible. This can improve your chances of preventing or slowing the progression of glaucoma significantly.

If you have diabetes and are concerned about potential risks to your vision, contact to schedule an appointment. We can help preserve your vision before it’s too late.

serves patients from Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma City and Fort Smith, AK, Oklahoma and surrounding communities.

Q&A

Q: Is there a cure for glaucoma?

• A: There is no cure for glaucoma. However, with early diagnosis and proper treatment, the risks of vision loss can be significantly reduced. That’s why routine comprehensive eye exams are so important.

Q: What glaucoma treatments are currently available?

• A: Your eye doctor will most likely prescribe glaucoma eye drop medications that reduce intraocular pressure. If the eye drops don’t work, laser or eye surgery may be the next step. Depending on the advancement of your glaucoma, surgery might be the first option for glaucoma treatment.

How Eye Disease And Cataracts Affected The Work Of Famous Artists

For many art enthusiasts, analyzing the differences in color choices and techniques that an artist employed over the course of their career offers a window into the artist’s soul.

But to eye doctors, these changes in color and style offer a glimpse into the artist’s eye health.

When comparing the paintings from an artist’s youth to their older years, the changes suggest that eye disease may have affected their vision — and, consequently, their artwork.

Did Eye Conditions Affect the Work of Famous Artists?

Cataracts

Cataracts are a clouding of the eye’s crystalline lens and a natural part of the aging process. People with cataracts eventually develop blurred vision and perceive colors as faded or yellow-toned.

Claude Monet struggled with cataracts in his 60’s. Upon noticing that his eyesight was changing, he wrote the following to an eye doctor in Paris:

“I no longer perceived colors with the same intensity… I no longer painted light with the same accuracy. Reds appeared muddy to me, pinks insipid, and the intermediate and lower tones escaped me.”

Monet’s early and well-known paintings of water lilies are full of vibrant blue and purple tones, with clear and sharp lines. As his vision deteriorated, his portrayal of nature became more abstract, and increasingly infused with yellow and red tones.

When Monet’s cataracts became very advanced, he could no longer rely on his eyes to select the correct paint colors; he had to read the labels on the paint bottles to know which color was inside. This is because cataracts caused light to scatter within his eye, blurring his vision.

Monet eventually had cataract surgery, which allowed him to see blue and purple again. However, he wrote to his eye doctor complaining that he couldn’t see yellows and reds anymore, which frustrated him. In those days, cataract surgery was fairly new and couldn’t fully perfect vision.

Eventually, he wore tinted lenses to help correct his color vision problem.

Retinal Disease

Macular degeneration affects the central portion of the retina, called the macula. The main symptoms of macular degeneration are poor central vision, perceiving straight lines as distorted, and blurred vision.

Medical experts believe that Edgar Degas suffered from retinal disease. Furthermore, he frequently complained about his declining eyesight in letters.

When comparing Degas’ paintings from his 40s to the ones from his 60s, the lack of shading and less-refined lines are glaring and may have been due to the deterioration of his retina.

Strabismus

Strabismus, or an eye-turn, is a misalignment of the eyes. The most obvious symptom of strabismus is that the two eyes don’t point in the same direction. This condition can also cause double vision, lazy eye and poor depth perception.

Rembrandt, whose eyes appear to be misaligned in his self-portraits, was thought to have strabismus. It is speculated that he needed to close one eye to avoid double vision, allowing him to accurately replicate what he saw onto the canvas. This would have affected how he painted his own eyes.

Don’t Let Eye Disease Change Your View of the World

Whether or not you are an artist, vision is one of your most precious senses and affects how you interact with the world around you.

Eye diseases and conditions that interfere with the way you see can significantly impact your quality of life. That’s why it’s our goal to help our patients maintain crisp and clear vision for a lifetime.

At , we diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of eye diseases and conditions using the latest in diagnostic technology. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff will answer all of your questions and make your visit as pleasant as possible.

To schedule your appointment, contact today.

Q: #1: How often should I have my eyes checked for eye disease?

• A: Having your eyes tested on an annual basis is recommended for all adults, especially those over age 40. Early detection of ocular disease offers the best chance of effective treatment and vision preservation.

Q: #2: Can vision loss be prevented?

• A: Certain conditions can be treated or managed to prevent vision loss. If you are at risk of any eye conditions, speak with your eye doctor about the best prevention plan for keeping your eyes healthy.

serves patients from Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma City, and Fort Smith, AK, all throughout Oklahoma.