Sometimes patients come to me and state that they have too high a prescription for LASIK. What they usually mean is that they are near-sighted, with “minus” glasses prescription. They have been told that the “minus number” is too high for LASIK. Basically, this is TRUE. I think that there have been successful cases of…

Traditionally, we in the ophthalmology community have started our newly diagnosed glaucoma patients on eye drops. Eye drops are usually acceptable to patients as a first line treatment during discussions, at least moreso than surgery. However, the breadth of options for treating glacuoma using procedures is expanding more and more. At this point, I still…

There is a condition in which calcium and fat get together in center of the eyeball to cause visible “globules” in the eye. When I look into eyes like that, sometimes it almost seems like a snow globe filled with these “globules.” Some have said that they resemble stars in the sky, and that is…

The cornea, which is the very front surface of the eye, can develop swelling. Many times this swelling has to do with a problem with the inside most part, which is responsible for pumping water out of the cornea. If that pump malfunctions, water builds up in the cornea, swelling it. Over the last couple…

Starting around age 40, everybody with good distance vision needs reading glasses. One of the solutions that has been used are “pinholes” that can be implanted in the cornea (as “inlays”), which can help focus light so that reading is easier without reading glasses. Pinholes in general serve the function of focusing light, so even…

The year of the eyeball, 20/20, is over. It certainly did not go as expected, obviously, within the eye care world or anywhere else. However, we do see hope and optimism for the future. I personally am looking forward to getting back to practice as I used to know it sometime before this year is…

Soon we will be receiving vaccines as part of the healthcare workforce. However, this should not change anything in ophthalmology offices. In ophthalmology offices, all entrants must wear masks at all times. This will still be a requirement going forward, for several reasons. One reason is that we cannot know which of our patients will…

Once people reach the “presbyopic age range,” typically in their 40s, it is not possible to see perfectly both far away and up close without glasses. However, it is possible to use contact lenses (or other means) to set one eye to see far away and the other eye to see up close. This usually…

Have you ever seen someone who had little gray spots on the white parts of their eyes? They are often on both sides of the colored part of the eye, and they are kind of circular or oval shaped. Maybe that someone is you! These are calcific plaques, and they often form with time. They…

A couple of decades ago, cataract surgery lens implants were more basic than they are today. There was also a higher rate of “refractive misses”–people who were not happy with their “without glasses vision” after cataract surgery. At that time, there was a lot of desire for an adjustable lens implant, so that the “without…