Williams Eye Institute - PEC

At Williams Eye Institute, we offer both the traditional manual technique and Laser Cataract Surgery with the LenSx® femtosecond laser. You can look forward to not only restoring the vision lost due to cataracts, but to choosing an option that may reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses after cataract surgery. Our Basic Cataract Surgery option incluhttp://williamseye.com/services/advanced-cataract-treatment/traditional-vs-laser-cataract-surgery/des manual cataract surgery and standard monofocal IOLs to provide a single zone of clear distance vision when patients do not have astigmatism. Patients with astigmatism will require glasses at all times for clear vision. The Procedure: Cataract Surgery is performed in our AAAHC accredited surgical suites in either Hammond or Merrillville and only takes fifteen to twenty minutes. We use the best and latest innovations in cataract surgery, such as sutureless small-incisions through the clear cornea and foldable intraocular lenses. What To Expect After Cataract Surgery: You will be released soon after the procedure to go home and relax. Your eye will not be patched and you are likely to see improvement in your vision almost immediately. Complete visual recovery varies from patient to patient, but most patients return to their regular activities within a day or two. If cataracts are present in both eyes, the second procedure may be scheduled within days or weeks of the first eye. Serious complications are extremely rare, but because it is surgery, there are potential risks involved. Our surgeons and counselors at Williams Eye Institute will provide you with additional information about the risks associated with cataract surgery and answer any of the questions you may have. We appreciate your trust and confidence in choosing Williams Eye Institute for your cataract procedure.

Over two million Americans are affected with glaucoma, and nearly half aren’t aware they have the disease. It’s commonly referred to as the “silent thief of sight” because you’ll feel virtually no symptoms until the disease is very advanced. Unfortunately, once vision is lost, it can never be regained. Most glaucoma is open-angle glaucoma. The disease is a result of pressure inside the eye that is too high for the optic nerve to tolerate, resulting in damage to the nerve which then causes a loss of side or peripheral vision. Unfortunately there is no pain or other symptoms until after vision loss has occurred. It is a leading cause of blindness, but if caught early it can be controlled. If you are over 40, you should have an eye exam by a doctor of optometry every year or year and a half. If you are African-American, or you have a family member with glaucoma, you at at higher risk for developing glaucoma and should have your eyes examined and eye pressure checked every year. Narrow-angle glaucoma is much less common and is very different from open-angle glaucoma in that eye pressure usually goes up very fast. There is usually severe pain in the eye or brow ache over the eye, along with redness, swelling, halos around lights and blurred vision. If not treated promptly, this glaucoma produces blindness in the affected eye in a short period of time. Our range of glaucoma treatment plans can help preserve your current vision and prevent future loss. Contact our office to schedule your glaucoma screening today!

Macular degeneration is a disease of the macula, an area of the retina at the back of the eye that is responsible for fine detail vision. Vision loss usually occurs gradually and typically affects both eyes at different rates. Even with a loss of central vision, however, color vision and peripheral vision may remain clear. Symptoms of macular degeneration: Early macular degeneration may cause little, if any noticeable change in vision Difficulty reading without extra light and magnification Seeing objects as distorted or blurred, or abnormal in shape, size or color The perception that objects “jump” when you try to look right at them Difficulty seeing to read or drive Inability to see details Blind spot in center of vision There are two forms of age-related macular degeneration, wet and dry. Wet macular degeneration Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal or leaking blood vessels grow underneath the retina in the area of the macula. These changes can lead to distorted or blurred vision and, in some cases, a rapid and severe loss of straight ahead vision. Dry macular degeneration The vast majority of cases of macular degeneration are the dry type, in which there is thinning or deterioration of the tissues of the macula or the formation of abnormal yellow deposits called drusen. Progression of dry macular degeneration occurs very slowly and does not always affect both eyes equally. Causes of or contributing factors to macular degeneration: The root causes of macular degeneration are still unknown. Women are at a slightly higher risk than men. Caucasians are more likely to develop macular degeneration than African Americans. Age: Macular degeneration is the leading cause of decreased vision in people over 65 years of age. Heredity: Macular degeneration appears to be hereditary in some families but not in others Long-term sun exposure Smoking High blood pressure High cholesterol Nutritional deficiencies Diabetes Head injury Infection Diagnosing macular degeneration: Your eye doctor can identify changes of the macula by looking into your eyes with various instruments. A chart known as an Amsler Grid can be used to pick up subtle changes in vision. Please go to Patient Forms to download the Amsler Grid test and receive instructions on how to test your vision at home. Angiography is the most widely used macular degeneration diagnostic test. During the test, a harmless orange-red dye called Fluorescein will be injected into a vein in the arm. The dye travels through the body to the blood vessels in the retina. A special camera takes multiple photographs. The pictures are then analyzed to identify damage to the lining of the retina or atypical new blood vessels. The formation of new blood vessels from blood vessels in and under the macula is often the first physical sign that macular degeneration may develop. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) uses light waves to create a contour map of the retina and can show areas of thickening or fluid accumulation. Treatment for macular degeneration: In the early stages of macular degeneration, regular eye check-ups, attention to diet, in-home monitoring of vision and possibly nutritional supplements may be all that is recommended. Diet and nutritional supplements: There has been active research on the use of vitamins and nutritional supplements called antioxidants to try to prevent or slow macular degeneration. Antioxidants are thought to protect against the damaging effects of oxygen-charged molecules called free radicals. A potentially important group of antioxidants are called carotenoids. These are the pigments that give fruits and vegetables their color. Two carotenoids that occur naturally in the macula are lutein and zeaxanthin. Some research studies suggest that people who have diets high in lutein and zeaxanthin may have a lower risk of developing macular degeneration. Kale, raw spinach, and collard greens are vegetables with the highest amount of lutein and zeaxanthin. You can also buy nutritional supplements that are high in these and other antioxidants. Low Vision Aids: Unfortunately, the vast majority of cases of wet macular degeneration and virtually all cases of dry macular degeneration are not treatable. In these cases, low vision aids may help make it easier to live with the decreased vision of macular degeneration. Low vision aids range from hand-held magnifying glasses to sophisticated systems that use video cameras to enlarge a printed page. Lifestyle aids such as large print books, tape-recorded books or magazines, large print playing cards, talking clocks and scales and many other devices are available. Injection: LUCENTIS and Macugen are new treatments for the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. These injections block abnormal blood vessel growth and leakage. Laser Treatments: In rare cases of wet macular degeneration, laser treatment may be recommended.