Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Glaucoma?
A: Glaucoma is a group of diseases resulting in damage to the optic nerve.

Q: Is there a cure?
A: No. But loss of vision can be prevented and glaucoma can successfully be treated with medications, laser therapy and surgery.

Q: Who is affected by Glaucoma?
A: People of any age can be affected by glaucoma, but it is more often found in people over the age of 40, especially African-Americans, people with a family history of glaucoma and people with diabetes.

Q: Is there only one type of glaucoma?
A: No. There are many types of glaucoma. The most common type is called open angle glaucoma.
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Q: How is glaucoma treated?
A: Glaucoma can usually be treated with eye drops. Patients usually use the drops 1-3 times per day.
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Q: How can I tell if I have glaucoma?
A: Unfortunately, a large portion of patients with glaucoma are unaware that they are suffering from the disease. Glaucoma typically has no symptoms. �Blind spots� develop in the peripheral vision where they are not noticed as much as if they were in your �central� vision. As glaucoma progresses patients may start to become aware that their side vision is getting worse. If left untreated the field of vision will worsen until there is loss of central vision.
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Q: Does glaucoma run in families?
A: It is now known that some families have a genetic tendency towards developing glaucoma. Individuals who have family members suffering from glaucoma should have their eyes tested regularly.
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Q: How often should I have my eyes examined for glaucoma?
A: After the age of 40, the eyes should be checked for glaucoma every two years.
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Q: What if eye drops don�t work?
A: There are many procedures including laser treatments and surgeries that can help manage glaucoma.
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Q: If I need surgery where is it performed?
A: If you need laser surgery it is performed right here in our office. If you need regular surgery we operate at several different locations in the Albany area including, Albany Memorial Hospital, Albany Medical Center South Clinical Campus and Albany Regional Eye Surgery Center.
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Q: What is normal eye pressure?
A: Normal eye pressure can run in the low teens to low 20�s depending on the patient. It is difficult to give an exact normal pressure as everyone is different and many factors play into what is normal for each individual.
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Q: What is a cataract?
A: A cataract is a painless, cloudy area in the lens of the eye that blocks the passage of light to the retina. This can cause your vision to decrease and to seem dimmer or cloudier over time.
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Q: What causes a cataract?
A: Cataract development is a normal process of aging, but cataracts also develop from eye injuries, certain diseases (e.g. diabetes), use of certain medications, or long term exposure to sunlight. Your genes may also play a role in cataract development.
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Q: How can a Cataract be treated?
A: A cataract may not need to be treated if your vision is only slightly blurry. Simply changing your eyeglass prescription may help to improve your vision for a while. There are no medications, eyedrops, exercises, or glasses that will cause cataracts to disappear or to prevent them from forming. Surgery is the only way to remove a cataract. When you are no longer able to see well enough to perform your normal activities, cataract surgery should be considered.
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Q: What happens during cataract surgery?
A: In cataract surgery the natural lens of the eye, which contains the cataract, is removed and replaced with an artificial lens.
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Q: How do I know I need cataract surgery?
A: Whether surgery is needed depends on the degree of vision loss and whether it affects your quality of life and ability to function.
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TRABECULECTOMY
Q. Can glaucoma be cured with filtration surgery?
A. In general, glaucoma is rarely cured, but the progression of the disease may be greatly delayed with surgery, medicine, or laser procedures. If your surgeon has recommended a glaucoma filtration procedure, it is quite likely that your glaucoma is moderately or severely advanced. The goal of this procedure is to preserve your vision. This is usually, but not always, possible.
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Q. Does surgery eliminate the needs for medication?
A. You will certainly need medication after surgery, perhaps for the first 4 to 10 weeks. After the filter site of your eye has entirely healed, whether you will need glaucoma medication will depend largely on the pressure in your eye as well as your peripheral vision (based on a visual field test). In most cases, dependence on glaucoma medication is reduced and in some cases, glaucoma medications are no longer required. Your eye surgeon will determine whether medicines are appropriate based on your final outcome with surgery.
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Q. Is there still pressure in the eye after surgery?
A. Yes. However, after a glaucoma filtration procedure, the pressure may be too low or too high, depending on the degree of filtration. Your surgeon will use many techniques as well as medicines to modulate this effect after surgery. Once healing is complete, usually 6 to 8 weeks after surgery, a new "baseline" pressure is usually established based on the degree of filtration created by the combination of the surgery and subsequent healing.
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Q. Does a filter procedure have risks?
A. All surgical procedures have risks. Glaucoma surgery is no different. The primary risks include, but are not limited to, infection, bleeding, swelling in the retina, development of fluid under the retina (choroidal detachment), retinal detachment, droopy eyelid, double vision, loss of vision, and even loss of the eye. The likelihood of the risks is quite low, but you should discuss the risks, as well as the benefits of the procedure, with your surgeon. In general, if your eye surgeon recommends a glaucoma filter procedure for you, he or she believes that the potential benefits of the procedure far outweigh the risks.
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GLAUCOMA DRAINAGE DEVICE
Q. Will my Glaucoma Be cured with the Tube Shunt Device?
A. In general, glaucoma cannot be reversed. The damage which has ensued prior to surgery is essentially irreversible, since the optic nerve does not regenerate. The best result that can be expected is a complete halt of the progression of glaucoma. This can only be known by following visual signs of the optic nerve and evaluating peripheral vision with visual field testing.
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Q. What are the Risks with a Tube Shunt Device?
A. The risks of this procedure include, but are not limited to, over-filtration (pressure too low in the eye), under-filtration (pressure remains too high in the eye), infection, bleeding, swelling of the retina, fluid under the retina (choroidal detachment), droopy eyelid, double vision, loss of vision and even loss of the eye. In general, however, if your surgeon recommends a tube shunt implantation, he or she believes the benefits of the procedure far outweigh the potential risks.
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Q. Will I Still Need Medication After a Tube Shunt?
A. All patients will need eye drop medications to help prevent infection and inflammation after a tube shunt implantation, usually for the first two to three months. After that, use of glaucoma medications to further control pressures will depend on the outcome of the surgery, i.e., the pressure in the eye.
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For more information, please visit the
Glaucoma Research Foundation