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| Myopia |
| Myopia or near-sightness means that either the eye
is too long or the optics are too strong. In either case the light
from a distance object focuses in front of the retina. Minus or concave
lenses are used to move the image back on the retina when viewing
distance objects. The vision may be corrected with glasses, contact
lenses or refractive surgery. Clearly if your parents are nearsighted
you have a better chance of becoming nearsighted. Identical twins
have similar refractive errors. |
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| Myopia is much more common in people with a higher
education. There are those who claim that since people with myopia
can't see clearly at a distance, they become more interested in things
up close where they can see clearly, e.g. reading, computers. The
fallacy of this argument is that once myopic patients are corrected
with glasses or contact lenses, distance vision is clear. Most myopia
develops during periods of accelerated growth (8-19). Previously myopia
stopped by the early twenties. Today, we see more myopia progressing
in the late twenties or thirties in those patients who spend a preponderous
amount of time reading and computer use. |
| Uveitis |
| Uveitis is an inflammatory disease inside the eye.
It is a serious ocular condition specifically affecting one or more
of the three parts of the eye that make up the uvea (Fig 1): the iris
(the colored part of the eye), the ciliary body (behind the iris,
responsible for manufacturing the fluid inside the eye) and the choroid
(the vascular lining tissue underneath the retina). This condition
has been estimated to be accounted for 10-15% of the total blindness
in developed countries. |
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| It can inflict upon people at virtually any age but
normally occurs among young adults or children. It usually involves
both eyes, and it may or may not be related to infection or systemic
diseases. Uveitis is a treatable condition. However, if it is left
unattended, or if repeated episodes of inflammation arise, it can
lead to tissue scarring and blindness. |
| Cataract |
| Light rays are focused into the eye by the cornea and
the lens. When the lens develops opacity and loses its transparency
the condition is called cataract. The commonest symptom of cataract
is gradual painless blurring of vision. Though the vast majority of
cataracts are due to aging, injuries to the eye, recurrent inflammations
in the eye and certain other eye diseases can cause cataract. THERE
IS NO PROVEN MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR THIS CONDITION. World over the
only accepted treatment for cataract is surgical removal of the opacity
with implantation of an intraocular lens. The state of the art surgical
procedure for cataract is a keyhole surgery called PHACOEMULSIFICATION. |
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| In this procedure an ultrasonic machine is used to
emulsify the cataract and remove it through a 3mm opening in the eye.
A foldable intraocular lens is then implanted through the opening.
This wound is constructed in such a manner that it does not require
sutures and visual rehabilitation is very quick. One can start doing
routine work after a week and heavy work after 3 weeks. |
| Our hospital has the Storz Protégé Phacoemulcification
System and we regularly use the Alcon Acrysof Acrylic Foldable IOL
or the Pharmacia Silicone foldable IOL. |
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