Eye Surgeries

Cataract Surgery

Did you know that cataracts will affect over half of all adults over age 60? A cataract is a gradual clouding of the natural lens of the eye. Symptoms of cataracts include reduced depth perception, annoying glare in sunlight, diminished color perception and poor night vision.

Dr. Kazi has extensive training in cataract removal, and he continuously strives to provide his cataract patients with the safest, most pain-free recovery of vision possible. New advances and techniques have made cataract surgery one of the most successful and life-improving surgical procedures performed. We offer the latest procedures available to help remove cataracts and restore your vision, including the placement of intraocular lenses (IOLs). Most cataract surgeries are performed on an outpatient basis, and more than 95 percent of surgeries improve vision.

No-stitch Cataract Surgery

“No-stitch” cataract surgery is the most advanced surgical treatment for cataracts available anywhere. This state-of-the-art procedure allows for a less invasive operation while maintaining the highest standards of surgical care. The actual procedure usually takes between four to seven minutes, and only drops are used to numb the eye during surgery. The technique was a breakthrough in the treatment of cataracts, because the procedure is performed through a very small corneal incision that is self-sealing. Since the incision area is so small, patients heal quicker and resume normal activities much faster than ever before.

IOL Surgery

During IOL surgery, the eye’s natural lens is removed and replaced with an intraocular lens. Since being approved by the FDA in 1981, IOLs have offered an effective alternative for cataract patients. Prior to the use of IOLs, cataract patients had to wear very thick eyeglasses or special contact lenses in order to see after the natural lenses were removed during surgery.

Bilateral Upper Lid Blepharoplasty

Blepharoplasty is a cosmetic surgical procedure on the eyelids that can significantly improve the appearance of the upper or lower eyelid. Incisions are made either above the upper eyelid, below the lower eyelid or both, to allow for the surgeon to redistribute or remove fat deposits, tighten muscles and remove excess skin layers. These incisions are made in very deliberate areas so as to be concealed by the natural folds of the eyelids, and as a result the incisions are barely noticeable or not noticeable at all. The results of the procedure are immediately noticeable, and recovery after the procedure rarely involves more than some slight swelling and bruising, dry eyes and minor discomfort.

Trabeculectomy

If you are suffering from glaucoma, a trabeculoplasty may be recommended to drain the eye in order to relieve intraocular pressure. This procedure is generally used for patients with open angle glaucoma that is progressively becoming worse despite previous eye drop treatments.

A trabeculoplasty is an outpatient procedure that only takes a few minutes. A numbing agent will be used on the eye and a lens will be used to keep you from blinking. Using a specialized laser, your ophthalmologist will be able to create new channels to promote better flow of fluids within your eye and reduce the intraocular pressure.

Patients may experience mild discomfort during the procedure and some blurry vision following. The blurriness should subside within a couple of days. Follow-up appointments will be scheduled to monitor the results of the treatment, and it’s possible that the procedure will need to be repeated depending on the severity of your glaucoma.

Corneal Transplant – PKP

When corneal disease occurs, it can cause the cornea (the outer protective barrier of the eye) to become cloudy. The only way to restore a person’s sight when this happens is a corneal transplant. Corneal transplant surgery, also referred to as keratoplasty, is one of the most successful transplant procedures of all tissues.

The main purpose of a corneal transplant surgery is to relieve pain from the inner structures of the eye and protect it, while improving the patient’s overall vision. It may be recommended for patients with various eye diseases like keratoconus disease, or eye injuries like chemical burns. It may also be recommended for patients who experienced complications after laser vision corrective surgeries like LASIK.

What to Expect

The first step to beginning the corneal transplant process is to be put on a waiting list at a local eye bank for a donor eye. Because the United States has a very refined donor system, this generally only takes a couple of weeks. Following a few tests on the donor eye to ensure optimal health and clarity of the eye, the patient will be prepped for surgery. Corneal transplant surgery is routinely performed on an outpatient basis, requiring local or general anesthesia. Once the eye is numb, your doctor will carefully remove a button-shaped section of tissue from your cornea and replace it with an almost identically shaped button-shaped section from the donor eye. The entire surgery takes up to two hours.

Recovery

A protective shield will be worn over the eye until fully healed. Recovering from a corneal transplant can take up to more than a year. It will take time for your eye to adjust to its new cornea, so you may experience blurred vision for several weeks. Heavy exercise and/or lifting are prohibited for the quite a few weeks following surgery; however, patients should be able to return to work (depending on the job) within seven days. You will be prescribed a steroid drop to help your body accept the new donor transplant, and an eye shield should be worn as long as your doctor prescribes to help keep anything from touching your eye. Depending on how well your eye is healing, your stitches will be removed three months to 17 months after the surgery.

Possible Complications

While the success rates for corneal transplants are high, there are some complications to consider. It is important to remember the four warning signs to prevent corneal transplant rejection:

• Redness
• Intense sensitivity to light
• Decreased vision
• Pain

If you experience any of these symptoms above after your surgery, even up to several years following your surgery, please contact us immediately. There are medications available to help reverse the rejection process.

In the event that the donor transplant does fail, the surgery can be replaced; however, the rejection rate only increases with the number of transplants a patient has.

After Recovery

Your vision will progressively improve up to one year after your surgery. Glasses or contact lenses will still be necessary to correct nearsightedness and astigmatism. You should wait until your stitches are removed before you fill an eyeglass or contact lens prescription because your vision will change for the first few months post-surgery.

Once your eye has completely healed, laser vision corrective surgery may be performed to help improve your vision and reduce your dependency on glasses or contact lenses.

Glaucoma Surgeries

Glaucoma is a syndrome of optic nerve damage with typical visual field changes associated with higher than normal intraocular pressure. It is important to treat this condition as if it left untreated it will lead to permanent loss of peripheral vision and blindness. Glaucoma can be treated by medications, laser and surgery. If drops and lasers fail in reaching the target intraocular pressure it is imperative to have glaucoma surgery to control the intraocular pressure.

Dr. Kazi has extensive experience and training in glaucoma management and surgery. The three most common glaucoma surgical procedures he performs are:

• Trabeculectomy
• Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Procedure
• Express Mini-shunt Procedure
• I-Stent
• Intravitreal Injections

Macular degeneration is an age-related condition that leads to vision loss in the center of the field of vision, blurring the sharp, central vision you need for activities such as reading and driving. Along with glaucoma, macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of vision loss in Americans 65 and older.

Macular degeneration is the degeneration of the eye’s macula, the part of the eye responsible for seeing fine detail. As cells in the macula die, vision decreases. Generally, macular degeneration is a progressive condition slowly causing vision loss. In rare instances though, symptoms can appear suddenly. If you begin to have difficulty reading in low lighted areas, notice an increase in blurriness in words, recognize an apparent blind spot in the center of your field of vision or begin to notice a decrease in the brightness of colors, you may have macular degeneration.

Because there is no cure and vision lost to macular degeneration can’t be restored, the only treatment option is to slow vision loss through regular appointments and vision maintenance to help you make the most of your remaining vision. The medications we use for treatment are Avastin, Ozurdex, Kenalog and Eylea.

Punctal Plugs

Tears are very important for the eyes, and for a number of reasons. They not only act as a lubricant, but also a cleanser – keeping away and washing out dust, debris and foreign objects – and also as an antibacterial, neutralizing any microorganisms which take residence on the eye’s surface. Therefore, when tear production is insufficient, it can create many problems for the eyes. Not only are dry eyes uncomfortable, they are also more prone to injury and infection.

One of the treatments for dry eye syndrome is punctal plugs. The installation of punctal plugs, which are inserted into the tear ducts, stops tears from draining off of the surface of the eye too quickly. In more extreme cases, the tear ducts might also be closed surgically.