Charlestown NSW

Causes of a pterygium?

The actual cause of a pterygium is little known, but they are highly associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation and hot, dry environments.

Pterygiums are more common in the warmer parts of Australia and among people such as farmers and surfers who spend a lot of time outdoors, but anyone can develop a pterygium.

How can you prevent a pterygium?

In cases where the pterygium is not progressively growing onto the cornea, just protecting the eyes from ultraviolet light may often minimise its growth.

In many cases, provided it is not threatening vision, this may be all that is required.

When the the pterygium is actively growing across the cornea and threatening to distort the vision, the only effective treatment is surgical removal.

After Surgery can a pterygium grow back?

A pterygium can grow back after it has been excised. A recurrent pterygium often grows more rapidly than the initial pterygium.

With the latest techniques of excision and grafting the re-growth rates are extrememely low.

What does the surgery involve?

• The surgery is performed under a local anaesthetic as a day procedure.
• You MUST NOT DRIVE HOME after the surgery, so ensure that you have a carer and transport arranged for the next 24 hours.
• The procedure itself takes about 20 minutes.
• During the procedure the pterygium is lifted free of the eye and removed. To minimise the risk of regrowth the surgeon will perform an autoconjunctival graft. This is the relocation of a small portion of the conjunctiva (from under the upper lid) to the site of the excised pterygium.
• The healthy tissue retards the growth of any remaining sun damaged cells in the affected part of the eye.
• This procedure will either require stitches, which normally dissolve or a Tisseel glue will be used to fix the graft into position.
• For several days after the surgery, you may experience some discomfort and pain relief may be required.
• You will need to avoid strenuous activity for approximately one week following your surgery. Recovery times vary between patients. Usually complete healing has been accomplished in one month’s time if there are no complications.

More information

For more information on Pterygium please contact Eyecare Plus Charlestown on (02) 4943 0744.

You can also download a useful FAQ Sheet here.

Our main concern with diabetic care is leaky retinal vessels, these tiny capillaries leak and disrupt normal vision and new vessels may form which leak even more, creating a potentially visual disabling outcome. This is called diabetic retinopathy.

Several factors influence whether you get retinopathy:

• blood sugar control
• blood pressure levels
• how long you have had diabetes
• genes

The longer you've had diabetes, the more likely you are to have retinopathy. Almost everyone with type 1 diabetes will eventually have nonproliferative retinopathy. And many people with type 2 diabetes will also get it. But the retinopathy that destroys vision, proliferative retinopathy, is far less common.

People who keep their blood sugar levels closer to normal are less likely to have retinopathy or to have milder forms.

Your retina can be badly damaged before you notice any change in vision. Most people with nonproliferative retinopathy have no symptoms. Even with proliferative retinopathy, the more dangerous form, people sometimes have no symptoms until it is too late to treat them. For this reason, you should have your eyes examined regularly by an eye care professional.

Treatment

There are several different methods of treatment depending on the severity and location of the pathology. Photocoagulation (focal or scatter) is one as is injections of anti-vegF in more advanced cases of macula edema.

More information

For more information on diabetic eye disease please contact Eyecare Plus Charlestown on (02) 4943 0744.

You can also download a useful FAQ Sheet here.

You can also visit the website of Diabetes Australia here.