Simplifying Ophthalmology With Descriptions Regarding The Most Common Eye Diseases

By Author: Kiersten Jeffery
Total Articles: 35
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Lasik eye surgery is a style of refractive surgery used to correct hyperopia, myopia and astigmatism. This form of surgery is usually one alternative to wearing lenses or corrective glasses, which the majority of people don't enjoy wearing. The procedure is similar in certain aspects to other corrective surgical procedures like refractive surgery and photo-refractive keratectomy and is therefore a popular solution to eye sight problems. As a procedure, it involves surgical remodelling of the cornea, specifically reshaping its curvature. There are chances that the eye will reject the surgery and slowly return to its original condition but other side effects are minimal.

The technology utilised by ophthalmologists changes depending on the eye condition being treated. For invasive cornea surgery a Ziemer LDV Femtosecond precision laser will be used. This piece of equipment enables a surgeon to operate on an eye without the need for a blade. A new form of non-invasive imaging technology, OCT (Ocular Coherence Tomographer), is being used increasingly to map out the shape, size and exact contours of the eye. for those that ...
... suffer from more complicated conditions there is Anti-VEGF drugs and Fluorescein angiography treatments. These are just a few examples of the equipment and procedures that are currently in use by qualified ophthalmologists.

Patients require a cornea transplant or graft when their cornea becomes permanently possibly through disease or external damage. If, for example, if a patient is struck by fuchs dystrophy (a slow progressing corneal disease that affects both eyes) or Keratoconus (a disease which causes the cornea to thin and change shape) then a cornea transplant is the final solution. This is where donated corneal tissue is grafted onto a damaged eye to restore the damage caused by the corneal disease, with the graft coming from 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.

Even though you may believe that cataracts only affects older people, younger people can be affected by the condition too. Described as congenital cataracts, they develop before the birth of a baby or just after delivery. The condition is characterised by the clouding of the eye and can sometimes lead to complete opacity. Other symptoms are near-sightedness or myopia - due to increased lens focus -, the slow yellowing of the lens and difficulty in seeing the colour blue. Treatment involves a cataract operation or cataract surgery. Vision loss and blindness can occur if left untreated. In the elderly the condition leads to shrinkage of the lens and swelling.

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. A qualification must be held by an ophthalmologist in order to pursue that line of work in Great Britain. After the post graduate degree has been awarded, most people tend to obtain a placement at the NHS to further their practical skills. In fact, some of the larger laser eye specialists even offer training programs to help individuals become qualified ophthalmologists. However, these are usually vocational courses, which are taken after acquiring a postgraduate qualification.

Many locations play host to a diverse range of surgeries. On the whole the surgeries for eye treatment take place in big cities like Sheffield, Newcastle or Cardiff. It makes sense to look at London for any treatment centres close by for eye surgery. Due to their excellent reputation, the clinics will have long waiting lists that you can be added to. The positive side from this is that the staff have the necessary experience required. In certain cases, they are linked with professional opticians therefore a possible suggestion is to talk to your personal optician for their advice prior to finding an eye surgeon.

By reading the descriptions above you should have now have a deeper understanding of the health of your eyes and how to identify a number of key eye diseases.