San Antonio- Are you one of the many people who suffer from floaters? Eye Associates of South Texas has a NEW LASER FLOATER TREATMENT for this problem. These are objects you see moving in your vision that aren’t there. They can look like cobwebs, insects, or assume an amorphous shape like a sheet of fog. They are caused by condensations in the vitreous cavity. If you imagine your eye like a camera, the floaters would be between the lens in the camera and the CMOS chip (film for non-digital cameras).
The floaters can appear without warning either spontaneously or rarely after trauma. Floaters can be very disturbing to some people, causing them not to drive or work on a computer.
It is important to immediately seek medical attention, as the floaters may herald the initial symptoms of a retinal tear or detachment. If you have flashing lights with the floaters it is very important you immediately come in for an eye examination or go to the emergency room as this relates to traction in the retina. Early identification of these conditions can often be repaired in the office by the skilled surgeons of Eye Associates of South Texas with Argon lasers. Floaters can also be caused by bleeding in diabetic patients with severe diabetic eye disease.
After careful examination by an ophthalmologist ensuring that retinal breaks or diabetic disease are not present, we advise patients with floaters to wait 3-6 months for the floaters to disappear. At this time we carefully re-examine the eyes ruling out any new retinal pathology. If at the end of this period the floaters are still bothersome and interfere with the patients day to day activities like working on the computer or driving we discuss with our patients’ their treatment options.
Treatment for vitreous floaters can be broken up into conservative and surgical. Conservative treatment involves waiting for the patient to adapt to the floaters (neuro-adaptation) or for the floaters to move more anteriorly in the eye where the shadows caused by the floaters are much less bothersome. Surgical treatment can be broken into two categories: laser vitreolysis or pars plana vitrectomy.
Laser vitreolysis is performed with a YAG laser in-office. No hospital or surgery center needed! This is the same laser used to remove cloudy membranes after cataract. The treatment is painless and floaters can be vaporized in one or more sessions depending on the size and shape of the condensations.
Pars Plana Vitrectomy is a longer hospital or surgery center surgery that removes with cutters and blades all the vitreous (jelly) in the eye. This requires surgery with an anesthesiologist and hospital admission.
At Eye Associates of South Texas, we have the latest Lumenis Duet laser with the Smart-V tower so we can now treat your vitreous floaters with YAG laser treatment to vaporize your floaters into smaller pieces that are less noticeable.
Not all floaters are amenable to this laser floater treatment, but those that are can be treated very successfully. The ophthalmologists and optometrists at Eye Associates of South Texas can identify who is a good candidate for this revolutionary laser treatment. It is done in the office and may be covered by some medical insurance.
CALL TODAY 830-379-3937 TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH EYE ASSOCIATES OF SOUTH TEXAS TO EVALUATE YOUR FLOATERS!
Eye Associates of South Texas is a full-service ophthalmology practice started 20 years ago by fellowship-trained board-certified ophthalmologists. With offices in San Antonio Medical Center, San Antonio North Central, New Braunfels, Seguin, Gonzales, Luling, Lockhart, La Vernia, and Castroville.
See Results from a successful study of YAG Vitreolysis Laser Floater Treatment.
