Useful Information About Ophthalmology For Anyone Thinking About Eye Surgeon

By Author: Leroy Batard
Total Articles: 76
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Lasik eye surgery, a form of refractive surgery, is used for correcting myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. This type of surgery is a clever alternative to wearing glasses and lenses, which most people dislike wearing. In some ways the procedure is quite like other corrective surgical procedures like refractive surgery and photo-refractive keratectomy, making it a quick fix solution to eye sight disorders. It involves surgically remodelling the cornea, in particular reshaping its curvature. There is a small probability that the eye will reject the surgery and progressively revert back to its old condition but other side effects are minimal.

Despite the facts that many believe cataracts to be a condition that only affects the elderly, it does affect children and young people too. Their medical name is congenital cataracts and they develop either shortly before or after birth has taken place. This condition is a clouding of the eye, varying in intensity from mild severity to complete opacity. Other symptoms are near-sightedness or myopia - due to increased lens focus -, the slow yellowing of the lens and difficulty in seeing ...
... the colour blue. Treatment involves a cataract operation or surgery If untreated it slowly causes vision loss and then eventually blindness. In the elderly the condition leads to shrinkage of the lens and swelling.

The type of technology being utilised by ophthalmologists will alter depending on the specific condition being treated. For an invasive cornea surgical operation a Ziemer LDV Femtosecond precision laser is used. This equipment allows a surgeon to operate precisely without using a surgical blade. There is also OCT (Ocular Coherence Tomographer), a new form of non-invasive imaging technology, that is being used more and more for detailed mapping of the size, shape and contours of the eye. For more specialist conditions there is also Anti-VEGF drugs and Fluorescein angiography treatments. These are just a few examples of the equipment and procedures that are currently being utilised by qualified ophthalmologists.

Macular degeneration is simply an eye condition which often leads to a gradual loss of vision in the centre of the visual field because the retina has become damaged. When it develops the disease can affect vision when reading and recognising faces, however side vision or peripheral vision is usually unaffected. There are two different types of the disease; dry macular degeneration and wet macular degeneration. The former is caused when the cells in the macula thin and degenerate and this is normally the more common form of the disease. On the other hand, wet macular degeneration is less common and is caused by an abnormal growth of blood vessels behind the retina. As the progression of macular degeneration can be slowed by taking vitamin supplements with high doses of antioxidants surgery of eye is usually is a last-resort.

There are many clinics within a range of locations. In the main treatment clinics are located in large metropolitan areas such as Sheffield, Glasgow and Leeds. If you are searching for eye surgery close by then London could be the place for you. Due to their excellent reputation, the clinics will have long waiting lists that you can be added to. However, this also means that they have experience and are more credible. In several cases, they could be officially or unofficially linked up with registered opticians so it may be a good idea to ask your personal optician for their opinion before going to see an eye surgeon.

In the UK, higher educational courses can offer postgraduate degrees in ophthalmology. Examples are establishments such as the Royal College of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Glasgow and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. In order to become a qualified ophthalmologist within the UK you will need to hold one of these qualifications. When the postgraduate has passed their course, the majority of the students usually gain a placement within the National Health Service to develop both practical skills and gain experience. In fact, a great number of the larger laser eye specialists offer training programs to help individuals become qualified ophthalmologists. However, these are usually vocational courses which can only be taken after a postgraduate qualification.

Corneal transplantation or grafting occurs when a cornea becomes damaged and is replaced by donated corneal tissue. If for instance a person develops Fuchs dystrophy (a degenerative corneal disease which affects both of the eyes) or Keratoconus (a degenerative disorder that affects the shape of the cornea, making it more conical than curved) then a cornea transplant is normally needed. This is where healthy donated corneal tissue is grafted onto the damaged/diseased cornea to restore the damage caused by the disease - the graft coming from the cornea of a deceased donor. Keratoconus surgery or cornea transplants or are often the final option for corneal diseases - in the vast majority of cases, the conditions can be easily treated by simply wearing corrective lenses.

After browsing the article you should now have a better understanding of whether a career in ophthalmology is the perfect career option for you.