A glaucoma diagnosis isn’t the news a patient wants to hear. Glaucoma occurs when eye fluid pressure increases and damages the optic nerve, an important connection between the eye and brain. Glaucoma can result in vision loss and blindness.
However, now is an exciting time for glaucoma treatment, according to Dr. John Morgan, who specializes in treating glaucoma patients at Eye Consultants of Atlanta.
“It’s a cutting-edge, exciting field,” Dr. Morgan explains. “There’s a lot of research and technology taking place, and creative innovations are making our management of glaucoma better and safer.”
Some of the latest treatment options include minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries, called MIGS, which are recent innovations. Dr. Morgan performs these procedures and sees firsthand the positive impact they’re having on those in need.
Though, despite the expanding role and promise of these minimally invasive surgeries in the management of glaucoma, some patients still require more traditional glaucoma surgery which Dr Morgan performs. For instance, he recalls a particular patient who had an autoimmune disease which required steroid treatment. The steroids were causing her eye pressure to elevate and she was developing glaucoma.
“With glaucoma, we typically try to manage it conservatively, doing things that would have potentially less risk associated with them,” Dr. Morgan says. “Oftentimes if someone is diagnosed with glaucoma or they have high eye pressure that’s putting their eyes at risk, we’ll start with some conservative laser procedures to help lower eye pressure and try topical eye drops to help lower the pressure as well.”
Despite both approaches, the patient was still experiencing large increases in eye pressure. After additional testing, Dr. Morgan concluded that surgery would be the best option. Since the patient had a history of inflammation, he opted to perform glaucoma tube shunt surgery in both eyes. A flexible glaucoma drainage device is implanted in each eye to divert the fluid located inside the eye to an external reservoir.
Following the surgery, the patient did “amazing,” Dr. Morgan says. Her eye pressures remained consistently stable even after returning to steroid treatment for her autoimmune disease treatment.
“Prior to the surgery, she was so stressed,” Dr. Morgan explains. “We were able to give her some peace of mind by keeping her eye pressure consistently lower and putting her at pretty low risk for progression from a glaucoma standpoint. It was so rewarding to see how appreciative and happy she was with the results.”
With an array of approaches at his disposal, from traditional to the latest modalities, Dr. Morgan is grateful he’s able to help Eye Consultants of Atlanta patients manage all forms of glaucoma, especially if it’s in the complex or severe range.
“You have to have a good relationship with your patients,” he says. “I always enjoyed team sports, and I feel like glaucoma is almost like a team sport. The provider and the patient need to be on the same page working together to have a really good outcome. And this type of continuity of care is extremely fulfilling as a physician.”