Best Glaucoma Doctors in Reading, PA

Glaucoma is a common eye disease. Over 70 million people worldwide suffer from glaucoma, and about three million cases occur annually in the US. Glaucoma is called the “silent thief of sight” because it has no symptoms until the late stages of the disease when significant optic nerve damage has occurred. Early detection and treatment is key, and the best glaucoma doctors are at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania in Blandon near Reading PA.

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a silent disease and one of the world’s leading causes of preventable blindness. Glaucoma results from damage caused by very high internal eye pressure. This intense pressure buildup damages the optic nerve over time. The damage to the nerve prevents proper transmission of visual input from the eye to the brain, so vision is affected.

The optic nerve damage due to the high internal eye pressure happens gradually. In fact, most patients don’t even experience any symptoms. The main indicator of glaucoma is degradation of vision, but most people attribute the vision loss to aging or other reasons. Sadly, by the time significant vision loss occurs, glaucoma has often reached an advanced stage, and extensive optic nerve damage has already happened.

Can glaucoma be treated?

Glaucoma can be treated, but any vision loss that has already occurred cannot be restored. Early detection is key to getting early diagnosis and treatment. Regular eye exams are crucially important. Our Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania team stresses the importance of regular eye exams to all our patients. These exams are the only way we can detect any optic nerve damage. During our exams, we conduct several tests to measure eye pressure and look at the internal eye structures for any signs of optic nerve damage that might indicate glaucoma.

We typically offer three treatments for glaucoma: medications, laser trabeculoplasty or conventional surgery. All three are designed to reduce the intraocular pressure; lowered pressure can prevent any further vision loss. Leaving the pressure high and untreated leads to further optic nerve damage and eventual blindness.

If we detect early-stage glaucoma, we typically use medications (pills or eye drops) to lower eye pressure. For more advanced glaucoma, we perform a laser trabeculoplasty procedure done in our offices on an outpatient basis. The procedure drains fluid from the eye to lower the internal pressure.

Some patients don’t get enough lowered pressure with the above two procedures. At that point, our surgeons will use a more traditional surgery to create a new opening through which the eye fluid can continuously drain. This lowers the internal pressure.

Glaucoma screening is important

Early detection is key. Regular eye exams are important. The earlier glaucoma is detected, the better chance our team has of providing effective treatment. If it has been a while since your last eye exam, come see us. We recommend annual eye exams. Please call us to schedule a free consultation. You’ll be in good hands with the best glaucoma doctors. Patients in Reading PA have an easy drive to our Blandon office. Give us a call today.