Laser treatments for glaucoma patients

If you are one of the over 4 million Americans who suffer from glaucoma, you may be interested in a treatment option known as cyclophotocoagulation. This is a laser surgery that is designed to reduce the fluid entering a patient’s eye, thereby lowering eye pressure. According to the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, cyclophotocoagulation is generally used to treat advanced open-angle glaucoma after other treatment options have not been successful.

In cases of open-angle glaucoma, a patient’s eye does not drain liquid properly, causing pressure to build up and eventually damage the optic nerve. To solve this, some patients turn to cyclophotocoagulation surgery, which uses a laser to damage the ciliary body so that it will create less fluid in the eye. This is generally an outpatient procedure and is performed with local anesthesia. After the surgery, some patients experience pain or inflammation, but this should go away after a couple of weeks.

An ophthalmologist in your True Dental Discounts vision plan will conduct follow-up exams to monitor the pressure in your eye and make sure your eye is healing properly. As a whole, Cyclophotocoagulation can be an extremely beneficial procedure in treating open-angle glaucoma, so talk to your eye doctor to see if it might help in your individual situation.