Our Services

Though we encourage patients to maintain control of their health through routine preventative care, there are many who come to us suffering from acute conditions such as cataracts, diabetes, or glaucoma. For those facing these complex conditions our specialists provide treatment options designed to help control and manage your symptoms. Our healthcare team offers extensive experience in such fields as:

Ocular Coherence Tomography
Heidelberg Retinal Tomography
Visual Field Testing
Corneal Topography
Retinal Photography

Cataract Correction

Cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens. When we look at something, light rays travel into our eye through the pupil and are focused through the lens onto the retina, a layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye. The lens must be clear in order to focus light properly onto the retina. If the lens has become cloudy, this is called a cataract!

While cataracts are one of the most common causes of vision loss, especially as we age, they are treatable with cataract surgery. Since most cataracts are part of the normal aging process, they cannot be reversed. There are no medications or eye drops that will make cataracts go away—surgery is the only treatment.

When a cataract causes bothersome vision problems that interfere with your daily activities, your ophthalmologist may recommend surgery to remove the cataract. With cataract surgery, your eye’s cloudy natural lens is removed and replaced with a clear artificial lens implant (called an intraocular lens or IOL).

Correction Options

Conventional Lenses

Vision Expectations: With a conventional replacement lens, you can choose only to correct your near vision or distance vision for optimal vision without spectacles. Whatever your decision, you will only be able to see clearly in that area of focus, but will need glasses to see clearly in the other area. Monovision is another option in which one eye is under corrected allowing that eye to see clearly for near (reading) while the other eye sees clearly for distance. Medicare and commercial insurances typically cover these options with no out-of-pocket expense.

HD BI-ASPHERIC QUARTER-DIOPTER LENS

Vision Expectations: This advanced replacement lens is optimized for high-quality distance vision, and reduced dependence on glasses in the intermediate range. The lens improves the quality of images in low light, and enhances contrast sensitivity. With this lens, you also are evaluated for any corneal astigmatism, which can be corrected in the MACS procedure.

FLEXIBLE SOFT LENS BLENDED VISION WITH HD BI-ASPHERIC QUARTER-DIOPTER LENS

Vision Expectations: By combining this surgical technique with an advanced replacement lens, you can choose 2 of the 3 vision areas that you want to be optimized, and may need eyeglasses in the other vision area. In this procedure, the surgeon “blends” your vision by correcting one lens for one vision area and the other lens for the other vision area. With this lens, you also are evaluated for any corneal astigmatism, which can be corrected in the MACS procedure.

ASTIGMATISM CORRECTING ASPHERIC TORIC LENS

This is a monofocal IOL with astigmatism correction built into the lens.

Astigmatism: This eye condition distorts or blurs the ability to see both near and distant objects. With astigmatism the cornea (the clear front window of the eye) is not round and smooth (like a basketball), but instead is curved like a football. People with significant degrees of astigmatism are usually most satisfied with toric IOLs.

People who want to reduce (or possibly eliminate) the need for eyeglasses may opt for an additional treatment called limbal relaxing incisions, which may be done at the same time as cataract surgery or separately. These small incisions allow the cornea’s shape to be rounder or more symmetrical.

PRESBYOPIA CORRECTING APODIZED LENS

Multifocal or accommodative lenses

These newer IOL types reduce or eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses. In the multifocal type, a series of focal zones or rings is designed into the IOL. Depending on where incoming light focuses through the zones, the person may be able to see both near and distant objects clearly. The ability to read and perform other tasks without glasses varies from person to person but is generally best when multifocal or accommodative IOLs are placed in both eyes. It usually takes 6 to 12 weeks after surgery on the second eye for the brain to adapt and vision improvement to be complete with either of these IOL types.

CONSIDERATIONS WITH MULTIFOCAL OR ACCOMMODATIVE IOLS

For many people, these IOL types reduce but do not eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses. For example, a person can read without glasses, but the words appear less clear than with glasses.

Each person’s success with these IOLs may depend on the size of his/her pupils and other eye health factors. People with astigmatism can ask their Eye M.D. about toric IOLs and related treatments.

Side effects such as glare or halos around lights, or decreased sharpness of vision (contrast sensitivity) may occur, especially at night or in dim light. Most people adapt to and are not bothered by these effects, but those who frequently drive at night or need to focus on close-up work may be more satisfied with monofocal IOLs.

FEMTOSECOND LASER ASSISTED CATARACT SURGERY

The safest, most technologically advanced method of vision correction utilizes a Femtosecond laser to accurately assess your visual needs while helping the surgeon create precise customized treatment plans while softening the cataract inside creating a safer and more accurate procedure for the patient, decreasing recovery and increasing accuracy.

THIS OPTION IS ONLY AVAILABLE AT ELMHURST OUTPATIENT SURGERY CENTER.

ORA (OPTIWAVE REFRACTIVE ANALYSIS) CATARACT SURGERY

ORA helps guide the surgeon by providing real-time optical feedback during surgery, allowing for the most accurate choice of implant power. ORA also assists the surgeon in precise placement of an astigmatism correcting Toric implant for optimal vision results.

THIS OPTION IS ONLY AVAILABLE AT THE VERNON SQUARE LOCATION.