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Clear Lens Extraction (CLE) is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of the natural lens of the eye and replacing it with an artificial lens implant, also known as an intraocular lens (IOL). CLE is primarily performed to correct refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

Understanding CLE and How It Works

Clear Lens Extraction is similar to cataract surgery, where the natural lens is removed and replaced with an IOL. However, in CLE, the lens is clear and not clouded as in the case of cataracts. The procedure begins with the administration of local anesthesia to numb the eye and ensure a painless experience for the patient.
 

Once the eye is numb, a small incision is made on the cornea, which is the clear front surface of the eye. Through this incision, your eye surgeon accesses the lens and carefully removes it. The artificial IOL is then inserted into the empty lens capsule. The IOL is specifically chosen to correct the patient's refractive error, providing them with improved vision.
 

After the IOL is implanted, the incision is closed with tiny sutures or self-sealing techniques. Following the surgery, patients are usually prescribed antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops to prevent infection and reduce inflammation.

Factors to Consider Before Undergoing Clear Lens Extraction

Before deciding to undergo Clear Lens Extraction, there are several factors that need to be considered. Firstly, it is crucial to have a thorough eye examination to determine if you are a suitable candidate for the procedure. Your optometrist will evaluate your overall eye health and discuss your expectations and goals for vision correction.
 

Age is another important factor to consider. CLE is typically recommended for individuals over the age of 40 who have developed presbyopia, a condition that affects near vision. It is also important to have stable vision, as any changes in prescription can affect the accuracy of the IOL power calculation.
 

Additionally, it is essential to understand the potential risks and complications associated with the procedure. While CLE is generally safe, there is a small risk of infection, bleeding, and retinal detachment. Your optometrist will discuss these risks with you and address any concerns you may have.

Dry eye is a common ocular condition that occurs when the eyes do not produce enough tears or when the tears evaporate too quickly. This can lead to discomfort, redness, blurred vision, and even damage to the surface of the eyes. Understanding the causes and symptoms of dry eye is crucial provide early detection and effective treatment.

The Importance of Dry Eye Advanced Diagnostic Testing

Early detection of dry eye is crucial for preventing further progression of the condition and improving patient outcomes. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, dry eye can cause significant discomfort and affect daily activities. Additionally, chronic dry eye can lead to corneal ulcers, infections, and even vision loss. By accurately identifying and addressing dry eye in its early stages, optometrists can provide timely interventions and prevent complications.

TearLab

One of the advanced diagnostic tools available for dry eye is TearLab. TearLab is a non-invasive test that measures the osmolarity of tears, which is an indicator of tear film stability. This test provides valuable information about the quality and quantity of tears, allowing healthcare professionals to accurately diagnose and monitor dry eye. By analyzing the osmolarity of tears, TearLab helps identify the severity of dry eye and guides treatment decisions. It is a quick and painless procedure that can be performed in a clinical setting.

InflammaDry

Inflammation plays a significant role in dry eye, and identifying the presence of inflammation is crucial for effective treatment. InflammaDry is a diagnostic tool that detects elevated levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), an inflammatory marker, in tears. By measuring MMP-9, InflammaDry helps optometrists differentiate between inflammatory and non-inflammatory dry eye. This information is essential for tailoring treatment plans and determining the most appropriate therapies for each patient.

Corneal refractive therapy, also known as CRT, is a simple, painless treatment for refractive eye errors like myopia and has two core benefits. First, it can be used to help patients see clearly during the day without using glasses or contact lenses, giving them the freedom and flexibility that they need to live life to the fullest. Second, CRT has been shown to help slow the progression of myopia, keeping prescriptions under control and potentially reducing the likelihood of patients developing serious eye health problems associated with high myopia in the future. 

Here’s everything that you need to know about corneal refractive therapy and what it means for you. 

Understanding refractive eye problems

Refractive eye problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism are extremely common, with nearsightedness – also known as myopia – being the most common of all. Patients with myopia can see nearby objects clearly, but those further away become progressively more blurred. Refractive eye errors occur when the shape of the clear dome covering the front part of the eye, called the cornea, impair the light-bending and focusing process in your eyes. This leads to the light ending up in the wrong place inside the eye, and the message that is sent to our brain from our eyes is muddled, causing blurred vision. 

What is corneal refractive therapy?

Corneal refractive therapy was initially developed as a treatment to correct and slow the progression of nearsightedness. However, it has also been found to be effective at controlling other refractive errors, including farsightedness, astigmatism and an age-related refractive condition called presbyopia.

CRT is a non-invasive, painless and straightforward method of correcting patient vision so that they don’t need to wear contacts or glasses, and they don’t need laser vision correction surgery to see clearly. CRT uses special contact lenses that are worn overnight and apply light pressure to the cornea in order to reshape it so that light is refracted correctly, and the image sent from the eyes to the brain is clear. The cornea is able to retain this new shape even after the contact lenses are removed the next morning, meaning that you can continue to see clearly for several hours. The more consistently you wear your CRT lenses overnight, the longer your eyes will learn to retain their new shape and eventually, patients can enjoy up to 48 hours of clear vision without using prescription lenses. However, the effects aren’t permanent so if you stop wearing the lenses, your vision will gradually return back to normal over the course of a few days. 

Slowing the progression of myopia with corneal refractive therapy

Another key benefit of CRT is that it can actually help to slow the progression of myopia. Most people who are nearsighted find that their eyesight gets progressively worse as they get older. This deterioration may not be rapid, but it can end in patients requiring high prescriptions. Studies have found that patients who have high myopia are more likely to develop serious eye problems in the future, including glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts and a detached retina. Regular use of your corneal refractive therapy lenses could help keep your prescription stable and lower your risk of developing these problems. 

Whether people like it or not, fine lines and wrinkles go hand in hand with the aging process. However, they typically appear sooner and look worse for those who spend time in the sun. Fortunately, TempSure Envi offers a solution that improves the skin’s appearance and health.

Instead of having invasive surgery, experts in the field of aesthetics can offer their patients something better. Not only is TempSure Envi non-invasive, but it’s also safe and effective. Simply put, it provides optimal improvement without any pain or discomfort.

Beyond Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Eliminating fine lines and wrinkles is just one of many benefits associated with TempSure Envi treatments. This same treatment works incredibly well to reduce the appearance of cellulite. Overall, it smooths skin, making it look more youthful.

However, even leading ophthalmologists and optometrists rely on TempSure Envi to treat patients with dry eye disease. Usually caused by Meibomian Gland Disease or MGD, the combination often makes a person look tired. In addition to dealing with uncomfortable symptoms, this causes bags to form beneath the eyes.

Because TempSure Envi is a gentle and safe treatment, it’s ideal for giving people with dry eye disease from MGD a fresher appearance.

How Does TempSure Envi Work?

This treatment uses a radiofrequency that gently and safely heats the skin for a specific amount of time. The body naturally reacts by producing new collagen. Because the new fibers are tighter and denser, they fill in voids in the form of lines, wrinkles, and cellulite. It also diminishes bagginess associated with dry eye disease from MGD.

Optical Coherence Tomography is a non-invasive imaging test that may be performed as a standard part of your regular, comprehensive exams, or you may be able to request this test as an addition to your usual exam.

Optical Coherence Tomography uses light waves to take cross-section images of your retina, which is the area of light-sensitive cells at the back of your eye that is responsible for receiving light and transmitting it into messages that are sent up to the brain. The technology behind OCT enables your eye doctor to see each of the different layers that make up the retina. By being able to see these and measure them, they can obtain a much clearer picture of the overall health and condition of your eyes.

Why are Optical Coherence Tomography scans important?

When you choose to have an OCT scan at fairly regular intervals, such as during your normal comprehensive eye exams, your eye doctor can compare newer results to previous ones. This helps them to build up a picture of the health of your eyes, and spot any changes which may be concerning, early, before they cause symptoms or have a permanent effect on your vision. 

Anyone can have an OCT scan, but they are particularly recommended for patients over the age of 25 who are concerned about the health of their eyes, or who are at risk of or already have diabetes, glaucoma or a family history of eye disease. This is because they can be used to spot the early signs of a range of eye diseases, including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, disorders of the optic nerve and more – even before you realize that you are affected.

Eye care professionals use Optikam’s technology to capture more than 3 million eyewear measurements every year. The OptikamPad iPad app is a total dispensing solution that enables eye care professionals to successfully assist patients at all stages of the eyewear dispensing process, providing them with a unique and custom patient experience.

Optikam Posture Devise (OPD)

You may be surprised to learn that wearing glasses can and likely will affect your posture. Glasses lenses are most accurate when you look directly through their center. This means if your glasses are sitting too low or have slipped down your nose, you may find that you are subconsciously tilting your head back and this can affect your overall posture.

Optikam’s OPD measurement device is a cutting-edge tool that obtains eyewear measurements that take into account how the frame will be worn by patients, enabling the fit to be customized to their individual parameters. The ten measurements taken into account when determining each patient’s position of wear include:

• Monocular pupillary distance

• Multifocal seg heights

• Pantoscopic tilt

• Rear vertex distance

• Wrap (face form tilt)

• Near pupillary distance

This results in frames that not only look fantastic, but that also fit perfectly, remaining both comfortable and stable on the face without you needing to adopt an unnatural posture. The measurements obtained by the Optikam OPD measurement tool are immediately visible on your eye doctor’s tablet so that they can recommend which alterations to the frames are needed to ensure that the frames fit with precision and gives you the best visual experience.

Our eyes are extremely delicate, yet they can be subjected to harsh conditions and other environmental factors that affect their health. One of the problems that can affect our eyes is an accumulation of dirt, debris and bacteria on the eyelids. This can cause a range of issues, including stopping tear film from reaching the eyes and being properly dispersed over their surface – which is necessary to keep them healthy and comfortable. Fortunately, a new solution called Blephex® can help.

What is Blephex®?

Blephex® is a handheld electro-mechanical device that is applied to the margins of the eyelids with the purpose of cleaning them and improving the effectiveness with which tear film flows onto the surface of the eyes.

Blephex® has a disposable, surgical-grade sponge tip which rapidly oscillates to create a cleaning action. Before the sponge tip is placed onto the eyes, it is soaked in a gentle exfoliating solution. This solution provides soft abrasion to help remove dead skin cells and debris that could be irritating the eyes and interrupting tear film progression. The Blephex® device is manually applied to the eyes and moved gently across the eyelids, with the entire, painless process taking approximately 6 to 8 minutes per eye. A different sponge is used on each eye, ensuring that no bacteria is passed between them. After the procedure, patients are given instructions on how to maintain the cleanliness of their eyelids with daily/nightly eyelid hygiene at home.

Most patients experience a significant improvement in tear film production and dispersal, and a reduction in unpleasant symptoms that they may have been experiencing within 48 hours of their treatment. While a single treatment is normally enough to produce excellent results, many patients are advised to have Blephex® every 4-6 months.

Urgent eye care encompasses prompt evaluation and treatment of sudden or severe eye-related issues, including foreign object removal, chemical exposure, corneal abrasions, sudden vision loss, eye trauma, acute glaucoma, chemical burns, and eye infections. Seeking immediate professional attention from an optometrist is vital to prevent further damage and preserve vision.
 

Common Eye Emergencies or Urgent Eye Care Appointments

Eye emergencies can manifest in various forms, and it is essential to be able to identify them quickly. Some common eye emergencies include:
 

• Foreign Object in the Eye: Particles, debris, or small objects can become lodged in the eye, causing pain, redness, tearing, and potential damage to the eye's surface.

• Corneal Abrasions or Scratches: Injuries to the cornea, such as abrasions or scratches, can cause severe eye pain, light sensitivity, and a feeling of something in the eye.

• Sudden Loss of Vision: Any sudden and unexplained loss of vision requires immediate attention to determine the underlying cause and initiate appropriate treatment.

• Eye Trauma or Blunt Force Injury: Injuries to the eye from impact, trauma, or accidents can lead to serious complications, including retinal detachment, hemorrhage, or intraocular foreign bodies.

• Chemical Burns: Exposure to caustic substances or chemicals can cause serious damage to the eyes, resulting in pain, redness, and potential vision loss.

• Eye Infections: Infections such as conjunctivitis (pink eye) can cause redness, discharge, and discomfort in the eyes.

Recognizing these symptoms and seeking urgent care can prevent further complications.

The Importance of Basic Red Eye Exams in Urgent Care

Red eye exams are a fundamental part of urgent eye care. They help identify the cause of redness and determine the appropriate treatment. Basic red eye exams involve a comprehensive evaluation of the eye, including examining the eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea, and iris. These exams aid in the diagnosis and treatment of various conditions, such as conjunctivitis, uveitis, dry eyes, and corneal abrasions.

We all want to look our best and in the last decade, we have seen a significant increase in the number of people seeking cosmetic services in order to enhance their appearance. With our eyes being our most distinguishing feature, we want to make the most of them. Thankfully there is now a range of cosmetic services that can help to rejuvenate our eyes and the area around them to keep them fresh, young and wrinkle-free. 

Let’s take a look at some of the services on offer.

Pigment removal

The brown pigment spots that appear on the face are often referred to as age spots and are a result of sun exposure. With age, the repeated exposure to UV rays causes melanin, a compound that is responsible for pigmentation and protecting the skin begins to clump together to form an area of hyperpigmentation. Whilst they aren’t any cause for concern, many people feel that they look unsightly. Luckily, there are a number of different treatments that you can get to remove them including topical creams, laser therapy, and chemical peels.

If you are suffering from darker pigmentation then we strongly recommend that you make an appointment with a qualified dermatologist who will recommend the best course of treatment for you, based on your specific needs.
 

LASIK co-management is an integral part of vision correction surgery that often goes unnoticed. It involves a partnership between your primary eye care professional and your LASIK surgeon. This cooperative approach ensures that you're provided with the best possible care before, during, and after your procedure.
 

LASIK co-management is the collaborative effort of your eye care team to ensure your vision correction procedure is safe and successful. It's a team approach where everyone plays a significant role in your eye health journey.

The Evaluation Process

The evaluation process in LASIK co-management is thorough and meticulous. It begins with a comprehensive eye examination by your primary care optometrist. This examination is meant to ascertain your eye health status and determine if you're an appropriate candidate for the LASIK procedure.

The evaluation process underscores the collaborative nature of LASIK co-management. Every step is carefully coordinated to ensure your eye health is prioritized and that you're receiving the best possible care.

The Importance of Consultation in LASIK Co-management

Consultation is a crucial aspect of LASIK co-management. It allows for patient education, addressing concerns and questions, and establishing a clear understanding of the expected outcomes.

During the consultation phase, your optometrist will explain the results of your eye examination and how it relates to your suitability for LASIK surgery. They will also discuss the risks and benefits of the procedure, giving you a balanced perspective to make an informed decision.

The consultation with your LASIK surgeon will delve into the specifics of the operation, including the technology used, the surgical process, and the anticipated recovery timeline. Having the opportunity to consult with both your optometrist and your surgeon ensures that all your concerns are addressed, allowing you to proceed with confidence.

The Role of Communication

Effective communication is the backbone of successful LASIK co-management. It facilitates a seamless transition from your optometrist to your surgeon, creating a cohesive care plan that's centered around your specific needs.

This communication is not just between healthcare providers but also involves the patient. Regular updates on your progress, detailed explanations about each stage of the process, and addressing any concerns or questions you may have are all essential parts of the communication process.