Is Glaucoma Surgery Dangerous?

Glaucoma is a deterioration of the optic nerve and is a chronic ailment that many people suffer in their later years. Many people are wondering about the glaucoma surgery and if it is dangerous or not. To get a definite answer, you have to first understand what glaucoma is and if you have any risk factors that can complicate surgery. If you have questions regarding the use of surgical applications to reverse the damage due to glaucoma, unfortunately the chances are slim. I’ll talk about those possibilities in another post, but for now, let’s look at how glaucoma is treated.

Treating glaucoma can either begin with laser techniques or medications that target the pressure inside the eye. Reducing this pressure is really the only way to start the healing process. This will prevent or at least slow down further damage to the optic nerve. If a person doesn’t respond well to lasers or medications, then surgery should be considered. The goal of glaucoma surgery is the same as lasers or medications, to relieve the pressure on the optic nerve. A bulk of these surgeries include a shunt which allows the eye to regulate its pressure at a normal state. In addition, there are several methods of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery being brought into the forefront of restorative vision practices.

For additional resources, visit lasikatlanta.org/glaucoma-surgery-atlanta-ga/ and read about the latest technological advances in Atlanta, Georgia.

Knowing the Dangers of Glaucoma Surgery

Just like with any LASIK and cataract surgery, there are certain risks associated with undergoing treatment for glaucoma. One might expect the following complications: loss of vision, bleeding, infection, low eye pressure, scarring, or cataracts. While all of these risks with glaucoma surgery are indeed dangerous, I assure you that they are extremely rare and can be avoided if special attention is paid to hereditary effects and being completely translucent with your ophthalmologist regarding the medications you are taking.

Getting the most out of your glaucoma surgery revolves around getting the right medical practitioner to conduct it in the first place. All of the dangers listed above can easily be avoided with proper care and an in-depth pre-operative screening.

Take the Danger Out of Glaucoma with an Annual Pre-Screening

Glaucoma, without corrective surgery, can be extremely dangerous. It leads to vision loss and blinding. By testing for it during your yearly eye exam, you can spot early warning signs and take preemptive measures to avoid further damage to the optic nerve. Make sure that your eye doctor utilizes tonometry to test the pressure inside your eye. In addition, a dilated eye exam is helpful in detecting early warning signs of glaucoma.

The Best LASIK Surgeons in Atlanta

Throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area, there are too many things to consider when it comes to choosing a LASIK surgeon. In order to save you the time and resources required to make such an important decision, we at LASIK Atlanta have compiled a TOP 3 list and have displayed them front-and-center on our website’s homepage. You’ll find only surgeons who meet our exact criteria listed and you can feel confident in knowing that we’ve spent the hundreds of hours of research it requires to sort out the good from the bad.

We aren’t saying that the LASIK surgeons that didn’t make the top 3 list are “bad,” and we’re not even saying that we don’t recommend them. However, we are simply stating that our top three picks are listed on our website.

We’ve interviewed the doctors and their staff. We’ve personally visited the eye clinics. We’ve scoured the web and read through their reviews and testimonials. We’ve even observed some of the laser surgeries ourselves.

In other words, we didn’t just pick three surgeons out of a hat and call them the "Best LASIK Surgeons in Atlanta."

Is LASIK Surgery Right For Me?

If you have perfectly healthy eyes where the only vision problems are coming from a misshaped cornea, then yes, LASIK is a great option. If you have pink eye, sleep in your contacts, have excessively dry or watery eyes, then no. It is best to correct these problems before scheduling a consultation with a LASIK surgeon. Furthermore, if you are under the age of 21 or if your sight is declining rapidly at each yearly vision checkup, then you might not be the ideal candidate for this type of surgery either.

The best candidates for LASIK are those whose vision is within a certain range and is stable. Yes, laser eye surgery works for people with astigmatism, nearsightedness, and/or farsightedness, but not in all instances.