Advanced Treatment Options for Glaucoma.
The #1 Choice for Cataract Surgery in Southwest Florida*
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Do You Have Glaucoma?
You're Not Alone.
If you have been diagnosed with glaucoma, you are not alone. Millions of people have been diagnosed and effectively manage the eye disease under the care of their glaucoma specialist. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States. Most types of glaucoma cause no pain and produce no symptoms until the patient notices vision loss. This is the reason Glaucoma is often referred to as the “silent thief of sight.”
Request an Appointment at Quigley Eye Specialists
Please fill out the form to request an appointment. You will be contacted within 1 business day to confirm availability. For immediate concerns or emergencies, please call 855-734-2020.
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a condition that can cause damage to your eye’s optic nerve – the nerve that carries messages from your eye to your brain, enabling you to see. Glaucoma is usually associated with a buildup of pressure inside your eye. This increased pressure, called intraocular pressure, can damage your optic nerve.
The increased intraocular pressure happens when eye fluid isn’t circulating normally in the front part of your eye. Normally, this fluid, called aqueous humor, flows out of the eye through a mesh-like channel. If this channel becomes blocked, fluid builds up which causes increasing intraocular pressure that can lead to a damaged optic nerve and loss of vision.
Request an Appointment at Quigley Eye Specialists
Please fill out the form to request an appointment. You will be contacted within 1 business day to confirm availability. For immediate concerns or emergencies, please call 855-734-2020.
MIGS: The New Age of
Glaucoma Surgery.
Over the past 5-10 years there has been a revolution in glaucoma surgery, specifically Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, commonly called MIGS.
The main theme and priority of MIGS is patient safety. While no surgery is without risk, MIGS provide improved safety while usually providing mildto- moderate IOP lowering. MIGS can be thought of in a few broad categories, either enhancing fluid outflow using the eye’s inherent drainage system, shunting fluid to the outside of the eye or decreasing production of fluid within the eye. Some types of MIGS procedures are FDA approved to be performed only in conjunction with cataract surgery (iStent) whereas other MIGS procedures are approved to be performed independent of cataract surgery.
While MIGS procedures will not replace or eliminate traditional glaucoma surgery, they have greatly decreased the number of patients who require these more invasive surgeries to control their IOP. Moreover, MIGS procedures have allowed a lower threshold for a surgical intervention with the goal of providing better IOP control while decreasing a patient’s glaucoma medication burden.
Request an Appointment at Quigley Eye Specialists
Please fill out the form to request an appointment. You will be contacted within 1 business day to confirm availability. For immediate concerns or emergencies, please call 855-734-2020.
Frequently Asked Questions
What glaucoma treatments are available?
Eye Drops for Glaucoma are used to either reduce the formation of fluid in the front of the eye or to increase the fluid’s outflow. When the Eye Drops are effective, they reduce your intraocular pressure and prevent damage to your optic nerve.
Laser Surgery for Glaucoma is used to improve the drainage of the mesh-like channel in the front part of your eye. Dr. Priest-Allen uses Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty or SLT to apply laser energy to the tissue in the mesh-like drainage channel. This causes a chemical and biological change in the tissue that results in better drainage of fluid through the mesh-like channel and out of the eye. The improved drainage reduces your intraocular pressure and prevents damage to your optic nerve.
Microsurgery for Glaucoma can also be used to reduce your intraocular pressure and protect your optic nerve. Depending upon your particular situation, Dr. Priest-Allen may elect to surgically create a new channel to drain the fluid or implant a special drainage device within the mesh-like channel so that the channel does not continue to clog and the fluid can drain normally. The goal of the surgery is to reduce your intraocular pressure and prevent damage to your optic nerve.
Does Quigley Eye Specialists specialize in glaucoma?
Dr. Priest-Allen is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Emory University, Dr. Priest-Allen went on to receive her Doctor of Medicine Degree from the prestigious Drexel University College of Medicine. Subsequently, Dr. Priest-Allen completed her Ophthalmology Residency and trained specifically to become a Cataract Surgeon at the world-renowned Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit, Michigan.