Uncategorized

Although the topic of vaccines is fraught with many diverse opinions these days, I would be remiss if I didn’t recount the major theme of an article I recently read in an ophthalmology journal. The authors investigate the rate of shingles in the upper face in patients who have had the Shingrix vaccine versus those…

Have you ever seen an infomercial in the wee hours of the morning, with each testimonial professing that the only thing stopping you from perfect vision is a lack of pinhole glasses? Well, to some extent, pinholes are great for vision! The main reason that people need glasses is that light rays coming into the…

In ophthalmology, “UGH” means a whole lot more than just an exasperated doctor. The acronym can be used to stand for Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema. Most of the time, Uveitis-Glaucoma-Hyphema syndrome occurs when there is a lens implant placed in the eye in a not-so-great position. It then acts as a foreign object in the eyeball, rubbing on…

I think that I have mentioned this before, but, given the date on the calendar, I thought I should revisit the topic. There is a special type of cataract that can form in some eyes that is called a christmas tree cataract. It earns that name due to all of the multicolored reflections that one…

There was recently a discussion amongst some eye surgeons about new lens implants. (The necessary background here is that, following removal of a cataract, we almost always place a lens implant in the eye.) The prevailing opinion was that one of the really newest–“latest and greatest”–lens implant technologies is not giving the best outcomes after…

For a roundish object, thinking about length doesn’t seem to make much sense. However, when we do cataract surgery, we have to think a lot about the distance between the front of the eye (the cornea) and the back of the eye (the retina). This is because, during cataract surgery, we place a lens implant…

I recently heard about a question about how to handle patients with blurred vision who might have cataracts. Cataracts are one of the most common causes of blurred vision, so it is a common occurrence for patients to come in with blurred vision and for us to find cataracts as the cause. When I plan…

I think that I have discussed this before, but it bears discussion again since a young patient of mine really noticed it this week. The patient in question is younger than 10 years old, which may give insight into his reaction. As I was examining him, he noticed that I was putting on an indirect…

I recently heard about a patient who felt that she was so sensitive to eye drops that she refused to take any, even after she had cataract surgery. Not only did she have a surgery that required post-operative drops, but she had a post-operative issue that necessitated more eye drops. Still, she felt she was…

Sometimes, I tell my patients who are feeling totally fine that they may end up with a big problem. “You will be in the emergency room, likely with blurred vision, a red eye, and throwing up.” This may sound pretty scary, but these are often the symptoms of an attack of angle closure glaucoma. When…