Essential Information Relating To Ophthalmology For Anyone Interested In Eye Surgeon

By Author: Emilee Jaden
Total Articles: 69
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There are a variety of surgeries within a number of locations. Most surgeries are based in major cities such as Manchester, Edinburgh or London. It makes sense to look at London for any treatment centres close by for eye surgery. As their reputation precedes them, the treatment centres will add you to what could be a lengthy waiting list. However, this also means that they have experience and are more credible. In particular cases, they may be coupled with officially recognised opticians so a sensible idea could be to ask your own optician for their views before looking for an eye surgeon.

The technology utilised by ophthalmologists changes depending on the eye condition being treated. If a patient is undergoing invasive cornea surgery a Ziemer LDV Femtosecond precision laser will be used. This equipment allows a surgeon to operate precisely without using a surgical blade. OCT (Ocular Coherence Tomographer)is fairly new non-invasive imaging technology that is being used more and more for detailed mapping of the size, shape and contours of the eye. for those that suffer from more complicated conditions there is Anti-VEGF ...
... drugs and Fluorescein angiography treatments. These are simply a few choice examples of the procedures and equipment that are being currently used by ophthalmologists.

Even though you may believe that cataracts only affects older people, younger people can be affected by the condition too. Their medical name is congenital cataracts and they develop either shortly before or after birth has taken place. The condition is characterised by the clouding of the eye and can sometimes lead to complete opacity. Symptoms include myopia, also known as near-sightedness, the gradual yellowing of the lens and a lack of perception of the colour blue. Treatment consists of a cataract operation or cataracts surgery. Loss of vision and in some cases blindness can occur if left untreated. In seniors the condition causes swelling and shrinkage of the lens.

Macular degeneration is an age-related eye condition which results in a loss of vision in the macula/centre of the visual field caused by retina damage. When it develops it can cause impaired visions, specifically when reading or when trying to recognise faces. Macular degeneration can take two forms; dry (nonexudative) or wet (exudative). The former is caused when cellular debris accumulates behind the retina, whilst wet macular degeneration is regarded as more serious and is caused by an abnormal growth of blood vessels in the choriocapillaris which leads to leakage below the macula. As the progression of macular degeneration can be slowed by taking vitamin supplements with high doses of antioxidants eye surgery is not necessarily always needed.

Lasik eye surgery, a form of refractive surgery, is used for correcting myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. This type of surgery is a clever alternative to wearing glasses and lenses, which the majority of people don't enjoy wearing. The procedure is similar in certain aspects to other corrective surgical procedures like photo-refractive keratectomy and refractive surgery, making it a common answer to solving bad eye sight. The cornea is remodelled and its curvature is reshaped during the procedure. The possibility of the eye rejecting the surgery does exist and it could slowly return to its original condition but other side effects are minimal.

In the United Kingdom, there are three institutions that grant postgraduate degrees in ophthalmology. Educational institutions offering these include the Royal College of Glasgow, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and Royal College of Edinburgh. To become a professional ophthalmologist in the British Isles one of these qualifications is essential. Once these qualifications have been achieved most individuals usually gain a placement within the National Health Service to develop both practical skills and gain experience. As a matter of fact, a large number of major laser eye specialists run specific programs to help people become qualified ophthalmologists. However, most of the time these are vocational courses that are taken following a postgraduate qualification.

A cornea transplant takes places when a cornea becomes damaged or diseased. For example, if the patient develops a case of Fuchs dystrophy (a slow progressing corneal disease that is common in patients in their fifties) or Keratoconus (a disorder which changes the shape of the cornea and causes substantial distortion of vision) then a cornea transplant is usually required. During this simple operation healthy corneal tissue is grafted on to the diseased part of the cornea to restore the damage caused by the disease - the graft coming from the cornea of a deceased donor. Cornea transplants or keratoconus surgery are often the final option for corneal diseases - in the vast majority of cases, the conditions can be easily treated by simply wearing corrective lenses.

After reading the article you should have a good idea if becoming an ophthalmologist is the right occupation option for you.