Providing Dedicated

Eye Care Services to Memphis

for More than 40 Years

total eye care, p.a. memphis

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Specialized Glaucoma Care

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States. As many as 3 million Americans have glaucoma, and at least one half do not know it. Although there is no cure yet, loss of vision can be slowed or halted with medical and/or surgical treatment. The best way to protect your sight from glaucoma is to get tested. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are the keys to preserving vision.

Glaucoma can damage your vision and one may not notice any loss of vision until the disease is at an advanced stage. The most common type of glaucoma, primary open- angle glaucoma, has no noticeable signs or symptoms except gradual vision loss. In order to minimize or prevent optic nerve damage and limit glaucoma-related vision loss, it is important to have regular eye examinations. During the examination, a number of tests should be performed including the measurement of the intraocular pressure and the evaluation of the optic disc.

Total Eye Care, PA offers many new treatments are now available for glaucoma. Research to better determine the cause(s) of glaucoma is an important priority of our practice. Each year, our physicians are working to develop new treatments through clinical trials with various pharmaceutical companies throughout the United States.

The first line of therapy for glaucoma is either eye drops used on a daily basis or an in office laser treatment. The laser treatment is painless and only takes a few minutes and is performed in our office. There are no activity restrictions afterward and you can go about your daily business immediately after the procedure.

One of the newest breakthrough devices for the treatment of mild to moderate glaucoma is called the iStent. Dr. John Linn is presently one of the few surgeons in East Tennessee approved to use the iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass Stent device.

The iStent is designed to be inserted into the eye during cataract surgery as a treatment for glaucoma. In a healthy eye, clear fluid flows continuously in and out of the eye through the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm’s canal. In open-angle glaucoma, this meshwork becomes blocked or drains too slowly, allowing pressure to build up inside the eye and potentially rising to a level that damages the optic nerve.