What does Maple Grove Eye Clinic have to offer?

Maple Grove Eye Clinic specializes in customer-centered eye care ranging from routine eye exams, contact and eye glasses prescriptions and surgeries of the eye, including LASIK and cataract extraction. We also offer over 30 years of expertise in areas such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Contact Lens

What does Maple Grove Eye Clinic Have to Offer?

Maple Grove Eye Clinic specializes in customer-centered eye care ranging from routine eye exams, diabetic eye exam, contact and eye glasses prescriptions and surgeries of the eye, including LASIK and cataract extraction. We also offer over 30 years of expertise in areas such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

I am a candidate for contact lens wear?

Depending on your refractive error, Maple Grove Eye Clinic offers a broad spectrum of contact lens options. An exam by an ophthalmologist or optometrist is needed to determine your refraction (prescription), to examine the health of your eye and determine if astigmatism is present. Most times, with teaching, a contact lens brand can be prescribed that fits your individual eye care needs and improves your visual acuity.

Can I wear contact lenses if I have dry eyes, keratoconus or have had surgery of my cornea?

Until recently, many people with dry eyes, a history of past radial keratotomy, cornea transplant surgery or keratoconus were poor candidates for contact lens wear. Silicone hydrogel contact lens development made contact lens wear possible for people suffering from dry eye. In other advancements, certain contact lenses can address vision problems associated with astigmatism and presbyopia (age-related near vision loss) unlike they could in the past. Bifocal contact lenses or contact lens prescriptions refracted for monovision correct a person’s near vision and reduce the need for reading glasses while toric or hybrid lenses help correct astigmatism.

Hybrid are just that-a cross between a hard contact lens and a soft contact lens. These contact lenses provide the optics of a rigid gas permeable lens surrounded by a hydrogel (or soft lens) “skirt” providing the comfort and stability of a soft contact lens. These special order lenses are meant for daily wear and may be stored in a fresh, multi-purpose contact lens disinfecting solution. These contact lenses should be replaced every 6 months. To learn more, visit www.synergeyes.com/patient.html

Cataract Surgery

What is a cataract and how do I know if I have them?

Cataracts occur over time and are the clouding of your natural lens. When mature, cataracts may begin to interfere with daily activities by causing glare in bright lights or halos around artificial lights, such as headlights, making driving at night difficult or decrease visual acuity in bright conditions such as sunlight.

How are cataracts treated?

Cataract surgery is the removal of the cloudy natural lens and insertion of a lens implant (intraocular lens or IOL) in its place.

Will I need glasses after cataract surgery?

For those who want to reduce or eliminate their dependence on glasses, toric or multifocal lens implants are available.

Toric lenses may be selected to correct pre-existing astigmatism and thereby offer the best opportunity for spectacle independent vision at a distance. We use the ACRYSOF IQ Toric IOL which, in addition to correcting astigmatism of up to 4 diopters, offers aspheric technology that reduces higher orders of visual aberration- those qualities of vision that affect contrast and the challenges of nighttime vision performance. A recent study showed that 100% of patients implanted with this lens reported needing glasses for distance “none of the time.”

Multifocal lenses are another option of intraocular lens implants that helps reduce a patient’s need for glasses. These premium lenses provide vision both at distance and for near activities. The ACRYSOF IQ ReSTOR IOL provides a full range of vision from distance to comfortable reading vision. This innovative lens combines apodized diffractive technology with refractive technology. Diffractive means the spreading of light passing through a lens. The center of the ReSTOR lens is an apodized diffractive optic. Apodized means a series of rings which gradually taper, smoothly transitioning the focus point from distance to intermediate to near focus. Refraction means the redirection of light passing through a lens, as in glasses or contact lenses. The outer rings of the ReSTOR refracts light to provide excellent distance vision. There may be certain light conditions, or a specific viewing distance, which may require more light, or glasses focused at a specific distance, such as a computer screen. That said, 4 out of 5 ReSTOR IOL recipients reported never wearing glasses after bilateral implantation (implants in both eyes).

The Tecnis Multifocal Lens is a fully apodized diffractive lens-there is no refractive component. These lenses are available in three strategic distances depending on patient preference whether it be fine detail work at a close distance of 13 inches or intermediate viewing which is optimal for shopping or leisure activities. As a result of this attention to optimal near focus and high contrast sensitivity, a full 75% of Tecnis Multifocal IOL recipients reported never wearing glasses.

Glaucoma

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma, or the “sneak thief of vision”, is a condition that may be inherited and involves damage to the optic nerve of the eye.  A buildup of the intraocular pressure in the eye can “snuff” out the optic nerve, disrupting the transmission of images to the brain and resulting in the loss of peripheral vision, at first. Left untreated, this disease can become progressively worse and lead to total blindness. Vision loss due to glaucoma is permanent, unfortunately. Glaucoma can be asymptomatic, so regular eye exams every 1 to 2 years are recommended.

Who is at risk for glaucoma?

People who are at increased risk for glaucoma are those of African-American, Irish, Russian, Japanese, Hispanic, Inuit or Scandinavian decent, are over 40, have a family history of glaucoma, diabetes, steroid medication use and trauma or injury to the eye.

What types of glaucoma are there?

Pressure will build in the eye when fluid isn’t circulating properly in the anterior chamber, or the front of the eye. Aqueous humor doesn’t flow properly through the mesh-work structures, and can result in a blockage. This is also known as open-angle glaucoma and is the most common type. With open-angle glaucoma, the structures of the eye appear normal, but are blocked. The cause of this blockage is not known and usually affects both eyes to varying degrees. Known causes of blockage include trauma to the eye (blunt or chemical injury), history of surgery to the eye, infection, occlusion of ocular blood vessels, inflammation, and steroid use.

The second type of glaucoma is angle-closure glaucoma. This type is less common and is caused by a narrow angle between the cornea and the iris which closes off the mesh-work like structure causing a blockage. Angle-closure glaucoma usually happens acutely and is associated with rapid cataract development or being far sighted.

Sometimes, intraocular pressure can increase to critical levels resulting in sudden eye pain, headache or brow pain, blurry vision or halos around lights. Redness of the eye, tunnel vision, nausea, vomiting along with the previously mentioned symptoms should not be ignored and brought to your eye care specialist immediately.

How do I know if I have glaucoma?

Diagnosis includes peripheral vision testing by visual field, tonometry (a procedure to measure intraocular pressure) and imaging of the optic nerve through a dilated pupil. These tests are effective, painless and take very little time. Once diagnosed, you will need to return to the office for regular check-ups to monitor the progression.

What treatment options are available for glaucoma?

Treatment may involve daily eye drops, laser surgery or microsurgery. Typically, drops are the first treatment option as they are less invasive. Should they become ineffective, surgery would be the next option depending on the physician. While glaucoma cannot be prevented, lowering the intraocular pressure by means of drops or surgery can prevent further vision loss. Maple Grove Eye Clinic offers multiple effective treatments for glaucoma.

Macular Degeneration

What is Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration is the deterioration of the macula. The macula is the central portion of the retina which contains the light-sensing nerve tissue. It is the leading cause of vision loss in people over 60, so it is often called age-related macular degeneration of ARMD.

What is the difference between “wet” ARMD and “dry” ARMD?

There are two main types of ARMD: Wet and dry. Wet ARMD is called such due to the growth of abnormal blood vessels that can leak blood and fluid into the retina. The vessels and leakage cause scarring which leads to central vision loss. Dry ARMD is distinguished by deposits that collect and begin to grow in the macula causing atrophy of the retina and central vision loss.

What can I do to prevent advancement of ARMD?

If you have been diagnosed with ARMD, you may monitor your eyesight by testing with an Amsler Grid. If you notice a spot in the grid missing or the lines becoming wavy or curved, that may be a sign of macular degeneration progression.

Although there is no cure for macular degeneration, treatment is available to slow progression:

Vitamins: AREDS (Age-Related Eye Disease Study), a large and long-term study by the National Institutes of Health, showed that a vitamin mineral supplement may decrease the risk of vision loss in patients with intermediate to advanced macular degeneration. This supplement includes vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, copper, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Anti-angiogenisis drugs: These drugs, injected into the eye, include Avastin, Eyelea and Lucentis. They block the development of new blood vessels and reduce leakage from the abnormal blood vessels present in wet macular degeneration. These drugs have revolutionized treatment of macular degeneration with many patients enjoying a significant and stable vision improvement. One drawback is that repeat injections are usually necessary.