What Is Intraoperative Aberrometry?

Yes, that is a mouthful, but the concept isn’t quite as hard as the name.

An Intraoperative Aberrometer is an instrument we can use in the operating room to help us determine the correct power of the implant we put in your eye during cataract surgery.

Cataract surgery is the removal of the cloudy natural lens of your eye and the insertion of a new artificial lens inside your eye called an intraocular lens (IOL).

The cloudy cataract that we are removing has focusing power (think of a lens in a camera) and when that lens is removed, we need to insert an artificial lens in its place to replace that focusing power. The amount of focusing power the new IOL needs has to match the shape and curvature of your eye.

To determine what power of lens we select to put in your eye, we need to measure the shape and curvature of your eye prior to surgery.  Once we get those measurements, we can plug those numbers into several different […]

Just like adults, children need to have their eyes examined. This need begins at birth and continues through adulthood.

Following are common recommendations for when a child needs to be screened, and what is looked for at each stage.

A child’s first eye exam should be done either right at or shortly after birth. This is especially true for children who were born prematurely and have a very low birth weight and may need to be given oxygen. This is mainly done to screen for a disease of the retina called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), in which the retina does not develop properly as a result of the child receiving high levels of oxygen. Although rarer today due to the levels being monitored more closely, it is still a concern for premature babies.

The next time an eye exam is in order is around 6 months. At this stage, your pediatric eye doctor will check your child’s basic visual abilities by making them look at lights, respond to colors, and be able to follow a moving […]

"What are these weird floating things I started seeing?"

The spots, strings, or cobwebs that drift in and out of your vision are called “floaters,” and they are more prominent if you’re looking against a white background.

These floaters are tiny clumps of material floating inside the vitreous (jelly-like substance) that fills the inside of your eye. Floaters cast a shadow on the retina, which is the inner lining of the back of the eye that relays images to the brain.

As you get older, the vitreous gel pulls away from the retina and the traction on the retina causes flashing lights. These flashes can then occur for months. Once the vitreous gel completely separates from the back wall of the eye, you then have a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), which is a common cause of new onset of floaters.

This condition is more common in people who:

• Are nearsighted.
• Are aphakic (absence of the lens of the eye).
• Have past trauma to the eye.
• Have had inflammation in the eye.

When a […]

There are many opinions on the topic of texting and driving. The goal of this blog post is to explore the effects on vision during texting.

So, from a visual perspective, why does texting make you more likely to crash? The problem lies in distraction from driving. For example, it takes a fast texter approximately 20 seconds to read and reply to a text. At 55 mph on the highway, a driver glances away from the road for approximately one-third of a mile. When the driver is focusing on their screen, this essentially gives the driver tunnel vision, causing the visual system to essentially use peripheral vision for driving. Your central vision is used to detect depth perception, detail, and colors such as red or green. So when texting, your depth perception, or 3-D vision, is altered and if cars are stopped ahead or closing in rapidly, it's not as easily detected. Colors, such as red brake lights or traffic signals, are not as easily noticed.

Next time you encounter situations with texting and driving, know […]

Despite requests that patients bring their current glasses to their office visit, many show up without them.

Sometimes it’s an oversight: “I was rushing to get here and forgot them”; “I left them in the car”; “I picked up my wife’s glasses instead of mine by mistake.” Doctors have heard them all.

Sometimes it is unavoidable: “I lost them”; “They were stolen”; “I ran them over with the car”; “I left them on the roof of the car and drove away and now they are gone.”

Frequently, however, it’s intentional. There is a perception by some people that if they don’t like their current glasses or feel like they are not working well for them that they are better off having their eye doctor start from scratch. “Why would I want the doctor to utilize a pair of glasses I’m not happy with as a basis or starting point for my next pair of glasses?”

But bringing your glasses to an appointment is important.

There are two main reasons for eye care professionals to know what […]

Did you know that having one's eyes tested can reveal symptoms of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)? ADHD is a set of symptoms that includes trouble with focus, overactivity, and behavioral control. It is estimated that one in five people has some sort of ADHD.

ADHD is a condition that has multiple symptoms and it can affect any age, though commonly it affects children. There is difficulty with visual processing, which includes doubling letters, reversing letters, and jumping words and lines of print.

Eye examinations are a crucial part of the diagnosis of ADHD. Proper visual function can be assessed through a thorough eye exam. During the exam, visual complaints, focusing, and processing can be assessed to rule out ADHD.

When glasses are prescribed for an patient with ADHD, prescribing the correct type of lens is vital. Many patients benefit from an anti-glare/anti-reflective or AR treatment on their lenses. This cuts unnecessary light from entering the eye, making visual processing easier.

In some cases, it is discovered that the person has a non-ocular visual processing problem. […]

No this is not a late-night personal injury lawyer infomercial.

This is a recommendation that you have your LASIK records available, for your own good, later in life.

There are 2 million cataract surgeries done yearly in the U.S. and the odds are, if you live long enough, you will eventually need cataract surgery, too.

What does this have to do with LASIK surgery? 

When doctors perform cataract surgery they remove the cataract, which is the lens of your eye that has become cloudy.  And they replace that lens with an artificial lens called an Intraocular Lens implant (IOL).

The IOL needs to have a strength to it to match your eye so that things are in focus without the need for strong prescription eyeglasses.

Currently, we determine what the strength the IOL needs to be by using formulas that mostly depend on the measurements of the curvature of the cornea and the length of the eye.

Those formulas work best when the cornea is its natural shape — i.e., not previously altered in shape from […]

The Background

Over the last several years, research has indicated a strong correlation between the presence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and glaucoma. Information from some of these pivotal studies is presented below.

Did you know

• Glaucoma affects over 60 million people worldwide and almost 3 million people in the U.S.
• There are many people who have glaucoma but have not yet had it diagnosed.
• Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States. 
• If glaucoma is not detected and goes untreated, it can result in peripheral vision loss and eventual, irreversible blindness.

• Sleep apnea is a condition that obstructs breathing during sleep.
• It affects 100 million people around the globe and around 25 million people in the U.S.
• A blocked airway can cause loud snoring, gasping or choking because breathing stops for up to two minutes.
• Poor sleep due to sleep apnea results in morning headaches and chronic daytime sleepiness.

The Studies

In January 2016, a meta-analysis by Liu et. al., reviewed studies that collectively encompassed […]

The sun does some amazing things.  It plays a role in big helping our bodies to naturally produce Vitamin D. In fact, many people who work indoors are directed to take Vitamin D supplements because of lack of exposure to the sunshine. 

But being in the sun has risks, as well…

If sunglasses are not worn, there is a greater risk for cataracts or skin cancers of the eyelids. It is important to know that not all sunglasses are made alike. UVA,UVB, and UVC rays are the harmful rays that sunglasses need to protect us from.

However, many over the counter sunglasses do not have UV protection built into the lenses, which can actually cause more damage than not wearing sunglasses, especially in children. 80% of sun exposure in our lives comes in childhood. Without UV protection in sunglasses, when the pupil automatically dilates more behind a darker lens, more of the sun's harmful rays are let in.

The whole point is that consumers should be aware that it is vital to buy sunwear that has […]

Will reading glasses make your eyes worse? The short answer is "No."

Although we don’t know the exact mechanism by which humans lose the ability to focus up close as we age (a process called presbyopia), the fact remains that it happens to almost all of us.

The leading theory of how this occurs is that the lenses in our eyes get stiffer and thicker as we age–one of the muscles in the eye that contracts to change the shape of the lens does so less and less effectively because the lens itself gets less pliable.

The process of changing the focus of the lens from far away objects to up-close objects is called accommodation. If you have normal distance vision without glasses, then your eye's natural focus spot is far off in the distance. In order to focus on an object close to you, the lens in your eye has to alter its shape. The ability of your lens to do that is at its best when you are born and it slowly gets less […]