Archive for October 2020

Sometimes we use language that is very unique to ophthalmology. If we tell a patient, “you have a hyphema,” the appropriate response is almost certainly, “what is a hyphema?” A hyphema is blood in the space between the cornea and the iris. The cornea is the very front of the eye, like the “windshield” of…

I often tell my patients: “do warm compresses.” If warm compresses are in a regimen with other treatments, I often find that they are the first things left out. I guess warm compresses are low tech and don’t have to be purchased, so patients don’t think that they are valuable? The truth is that warm…

One of my most common surgeries is removal of a pterygium. You might ask, “what is a pterygium?” A pterygium is a growth on the surface of the eyeball. It is really like an overgrowth of existing tissue (but there is obviously an alteration of the normal tissue which relates to its overgrowth). The name…

I recently was on a forum of ophthalmologists, and someone posted a question about a patient. This patient did not have a normal cataract surgery lens placement, though the author did not describe why. In any case, the patient is not happy and wants the lens implant exchanged but also wants all the bells and…

When we perform cataract surgery, we take the cataract out of its capsule and then use the capsule as a way to stabilize the lens implant. Sometimes we use a different word for the capsule, which is “bag.” Sometimes we even call it a “capsular bag.” The capsule is behind the colored iris of the…