Best Glaucoma Surgeons SW Florida

If you are over age 60, African American or Hispanic, you may be at higher risk of glaucoma, particularly if you have a family history. Surgery is often the best treatment for glaucoma, and in SW Florida, the best glaucoma surgeons are at Elmquist Eye Group.

What is trabeculectomy?

If you’ve researched glaucoma surgery, you have likely come across a procedure called laser trabeculectomy, a surgery we use to treat open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of glaucoma, occurring in 90 percent of patients.

In this procedure, the surgeon creates a tiny opening under the eyelid to allow excess fluid inside the eye to drain away. This drainage of fluid lowers the internal eye pressure. We can do the procedure right in our office, and you can go home the same day, with someone driving you home to relax the rest of the day. The trabecular surgery lowers eye pressure only to a certain degree, so we typically use this procedure in the early to moderate stages of glaucoma.

What is glaucoma implant surgery?

For more severe cases of glaucoma, where pressures are higher, we recommend the more traditional forms of surgery for glaucoma. Our board-certified surgeons also perform glaucoma implant surgery, a type of surgery used to treat several different forms of glaucoma. The surgeon will implant a small tube in the white part of the eye, the sclera, to help fluid continually drain out of the eye, thus lowering internal eye pressure.

Are there other types of glaucoma surgery?

The surgeon may recommend a new procedure called MIGS, or minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, in cases of mild to moderate glaucoma. MIGS is safer because it is less invasive, and you will also have a faster recovery. There are several variations of MIGS procedures, so we will discuss all the options with you.

MIGS offers fewer complications than the traditional glaucoma surgeries, and uses smaller incisions.

Will I have to repeat this surgery?

Some patients experience long-lasting benefits of these surgeries, while others find the need to repeat the surgery several years down the road. For example, with the traditional surgery, some patients have the opening created by the surgeon close up again, so another surgery is needed to reopen the drainage pathway.

Experience and expertise

Remember that glaucoma usually has no symptoms. Most people don’t notice a problem, and comprehensive eye exams are the only way to determine whether you have glaucoma. There are several types of glaucoma, with open-angle glaucoma being the most common by far. Approximately half of patients don’t even know they currently have glaucoma. Over time, people slowly lose vision, and that usually starts with a loss in peripheral or side vision. The vision loss is so slow, most people either can’t tell their vision is changing, or attribute the changes to normal aging.

There is no cure for glaucoma, and without treatment, it does eventually cause blindness. Early treatment can stop damage and protect vision. If you are in a high-risk category for glaucoma, come see SW Florida’s best glaucoma surgeons at Elmquist Eye Group. We are standing by and ready for you to be our next new patient. Give us a call today and make an appointment.