The Eye Clinic of Texas

Houston Cataract Surgery Complications

atrittel — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:14:22 +0000

Galveston and Houston Cataract Surgeon Bernard Milstein, M.D. commented on cataract surgery complications. Although Cataract Surgery complications are really pretty rare everyone with a Cataract who is thinking about having eye surgery always has a concern about what could go wrong. Certainly there are things that could go wrong. “Basically in the hands of an experienced Cataract Surgeon using modern cataract surgery techniques we do everything possible to reduce the risk of complications”, said Bernard Milstein, M.D. at The Eye Clinic of Texas. “When you consider the huge benefit that patients receive not only in terms of vision but also lifestyle, comfort, convenience and safety the risk of complications is really quite low”, said Dr. Milstein. For routine cataract surgery in healthy patients the complication rate is well under 5%. This might increase somewhat if you have diabetic eye disease, glaucoma or other types of health or eye problems.

So what kinds of things can go wrong? First there are a handful of things that can happen during or within the first 24-48 hours after a Cataract operation. These include the very unusual things like bleeding inside the eye which is really rare, a little bleeding on the surface of the eye or an inner eye infection which is quite rare. Sometimes the “capsule” around the crystalline lens that is removed as part of the operation might be broken during the surgery and we might need to do a “vitrectomy” as part of the surgery to get a good result. This too is pretty unusual. In very nearsighted patients, Cataract Surgery can precipitate a retinal detachment. Very rarely the intraocular lens implant can move off center or the center of the retina can swell. By far the most common complication is a clouding of the lens capsule that has been left in place to support the lens implant. Fortunately, this is easily managed with a quick, painless procedure called a YAG Laser Capsulotomy that restores the vision almost immediately after the procedure.

Although it might sound like there are lots of possible complications of Cataract Surgery, rest assured they are quite unusual.

If you or someone you know has Cataracts and has questions about Cataract Surgery and Lens Implant complications please feel free to call The Eye Clinic if Texas at 800-423-3937.

The Eye Clinic of Texas is a leading eye care practice serving the greater Houston, Galveston, League City and Texas City area that provides all aspects of general, medical, surgical, laser and optical eye care services. Our Board Certified Ophthalmologists perform Laser Eye Surgery such as LASIK, Cataract Surgery & Lens Implants using advanced technology IOLs to correct complex problems such as astigmatism and near vision focusing problems including presbyopia, diagnosis and management of glaucoma, diagnosis and management of diabetic retinopathy, diagnosis and management of Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Pediatric Ophthalmology. Texas EyeWear at The Eye Clinic of Texas provides personalized consultation and fitting of eyeglasses and eyeglass lenses for greater Houston, Galveston, League City and Texas City area patients.

Houston LASIK Awful Glasses Contest on Facebook

atrittel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:08:17 +0000

The Eye Clinic of Texas is pleased to announce the commencement of their “Awful Glasses LASIK Contest” for anyone over the age of 21 considering LASIK in Houston or Galveston. “Facebook gives us the opportunity to do something fun for those considering LASIK in Houston so we decided to sponsor an “Awful Glasses LASIK Contest” through our community of Houston LASIK surgery patients and our Facebook fans and their friends”, stated Bernard Milstein, M.D., Cataract & LASIK Surgeon at The Eye Clinic of Texas. “We are quite stringent in our requirements for patient selection of LASIK candidates but we can still have some fun as we help people think about what it would be like to not have to wear glasses to see clearly at distance without them,” remarked Galveston and Houston LASIK Surgeon Dr. Da-Thuy Van.

The Eye Clinic of Texas invites anyone over the age of 21 to participate in their “Awful Glasses Contest” by going to www.facebook.com/ecot.lasik and locating the Awful Glasses Contest tab on the left hand navigation bar. Upon clicking and loading the contest page you can LIKE us and you will be asked to provide a photo of yourself with your “Awful Glasses” and are encouraged to write a little statement about why they are so awful. “We will be accepting entries from February 20, 2012 until April 7, 2012,” noted Amy Trittel, Refractive Surgery Coordinator at The Eye Clinic of Texas. “Then beginning on April 8, 2012 we will open the contest to allow your friends and relatives to vote for you. Whoever has the most votes by their friends and relatives will get to have LASIK at The Eye Clinic of Texas compliments of our center!! So-be sure to tell your friends that you have entered and that they should vote for you.”

There is no entry fee or cost of any kind to enter the Awful Glasses Contest at The Eye Clinic of Texas. However, if you win you must come in for a no charge consultation and be deemed a suitable LASIK candidate by our medical staff. In the event you are not suitable you will be able to give your LASIK to someone of your choosing who is medically suitable.

To learn more about The Eye Clinic of Texas you may visit www.ecot.com. To enter the Awful Glasses Contest visit facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

For additional information, contact:

Amy Trittel, The Eye Clinic of Texas, 2302 Avenue P, Galveston, Texas 77550, atrittel@ecot.com, 1-800-423-3937

New Digital Sign in League City office

atrittel — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:04:02 +0000

We are anticipating the completion of our new sign. Look for us on I-45 in League City!

Protecting Your Eyes from UV

atrittel — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:20:46 +0000

Galveston & Houston Ophthalmologists commented on UV protection in Houston. “Protecting your eyes from UV should be an important part of your daily routine in order to maintain your eye health and vision”, relayed Allan Fradkin, M.D. of The Eye Clinic of Texas. A number of scientific studies indicate that spending long hours in the sun without eye protection can damage your eyes by contributing to Cataracts and growths on the eye, including cancer. Based on these studies, The Eye Clinic of Texas recommends that you wear 99 percent and higher UV (ultraviolet radiation)-absorbent sunglasses and a brimmed hat whenever you’re in the sun for long periods of time. Texas EyeWear, the optical shops at The Eye Clinic of Texas, has an extensive selection of fashion eyewear and sunglasses.

Proper sunglasses are critical to protecting your eyes from sun-related damage, and they should be worn anytime you are outdoors, particularly during the summer when the level of ultraviolet radiation (UVA and UVB) is at least three time higher than during the winter, when you are at the beach or in the water, when you are participating in winter sports, especially at high altitudes where the UV is particularly strong and if you use medications that can cause sensitivity to light.

The best sunglasses offer 100 percent UV absorption, are of the best optical quality and are impact resistant. If you wear contact lenses, they may not protect your eyes from UV light. There are contact lenses available with UV protection. If you do not have contact lenses that absorb UV light, you need to protect your eyes with sunglasses.

“But keep in mind that sunglasses cannot protect your eyes from certain intense light sources such as arc welding, tanning beds/lights, snowfields or gazing directly at the sun, especially during a solar eclipse,” said Dr. Fradkin. These intense lights can severely damage your eyes. Looking at any of these light sources without adequate protection can cause a painful corneal condition called photokeratitis or even damage to the retina, causing a permanent loss of central vision. The Eye Clinic of Texas is happy to recommend the appropriate measures to take to protect your eyes in special situations. If you have questions or need an appointment to learn more about protecting your eyes from UV please call The Eye Clinic of Texas at 800-423-3937.

ECOT carries the same Persol Sun Glasses as seen in blockbuster movie

atrittel — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:55:04 +0000

Persol Sun Glasses and Tom Cruise-

Last night my wife and I went to see the movie, Mission Impossible, staring Tom Cruise. My wife immediately pointed out to me that
Tom was wearing the same Persol sunglasses that I had been wearing for the past two years. I asked her if they looked as good on me as they did on Tom and she very politely laughed.

The movie was fun, not terrible taxing intellectually, but worth seeing. The real take home was that our optical shop, Texas EyeWear, has been carrying very fashionable sunglasses for years. We feature Persol, Maui Jim, Ray Ban, and Costa Del Mar, as well as many designer frames that can be used as prescription sunglasses. The next time you are looking for quality sunglasses, the kind Tom Cruise might wear, check out Texas EyeWear either in League City, Galveston, or our new Texas City offices.

Houston Children’s Eye & Vision Problems

atrittel — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:51:28 +0000

“Houston children’s eye and vision problems have always been a high priority for us at The Eye Clinic of Texas”, stated Allan Fradkin, M.D. “We take a proactive approach toward eye examinations for kidsbecause we watch them grow up in our community and have a really solid understanding of how children’s eye health and vision can impact not only their learning and school work, but also their overall health, self-perception, long term educational attainment, job choices and a number of other social factors,” commented Dr. Fradkin.

In addition to refractive errors such as myopia and astigmatism, ocular disorders that occur in infants, toddlers, and children may present lifelong problems for children. Conditions such as strabismus, amblyopia, and retinopathy of prematurity may require adaptations in adulthood as well. In addition, vision disorders that occur in childhood may manifest as problems well into adulthood. “Taking care of pediatric eye health and vision problems has to be a team effort with input from parents, oversight by the family Pediatrician-and us as Ophthalmologists,” continued Dr. Fradkin. Recent studies on The Impact of Pediatric Vision Disorders in Adulthood published in Pediatrics, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, goes a long way to further reinforce our goals for children’s vision.

If you or someone you know would like to schedule a children’s eye examination to assess their eye health or vision please feel free to call us at The Eye Clinic of Texas at 800-423-3937.

Study shows grapes provided more antioxidant protection than lutein

atrittel — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:43:10 +0000

A recently released study demonstrated the value of the antioxident effect of grapes in preventing the development of macular degeneration, a condition affecting millions of people worldwide. The study was published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine and demonstrated the antioxidant protective effects of eating grapes. The study was conducted in mice, and showed that micewho ingested quantities of grapes did not develop macular degeneration. Extrapolating this study to humans, would seem to indicate that we all shouldconsider eating more grapes. The study also proved that grapes are more
effective than lutein in mice.

It might be worth doing a similar study to see if wine provides a similar protective effect. It certainly would give us all a healthy reason to increase our wine consumption.

Houston Monovision Cataract Surgery

atrittel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:35:50 +0000

Galveston and Houston Cataract Surgeons from The Eye Clinic of Texas commented on Monovision Cataract Surgery. “This is a technique that is used to help patients increase their range of clear vision after a Cataract operation”, relayed Dr. Da-Thuy Van. The technique of monovision has been used for many years by contact lens wearers as well as patients with presbyopia having Laser Vision Correction for nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. The monovision technique is simply adjusting the optical correction in each eye so that the dominant eye is corrected for clear distance vision and the non-dominant eye is corrected for improving near or intermediate range vision. For patients who have been wearing monovision contact lenses successfully or who have had monovision LASIK and are pleased with their vision, taking the step into monovision Cataract Surgery is a natural progression. For others, they must consider the possible benefits as compared to those provided by near vision presbyopia correcting multifocal lens implants as some 30% of monovision patients fail to adapt adequately to the “blended” vision.

“We have had years of experience working with LASIK patients who wanted monovision, and agree with the researchers in the May 2011 Journal of Refractive Surgery who concluded that the prescription range of 1.00 D to 2.00 D of monovision correction was the maximum range and that the optimal prescription for monovision Cataract Surgery was 1.5 D,” commented Bernard Milstein, M.D. of The Eye Clinic of Texas. While this is useful information, patients should understand that a 1.5 D near correction may very well be insufficient for them to perform their daily tasks comfortably without needing readers or bifocals. The only reliable way for you or someone you know with a Cataract to find out if you are candidates for monovision Cataract Surgery or near vision presbyopia correcting lens implants after Cataract Surgery is to schedule a Cataract and Lens Implant evaluation at The Eye Clinic of Texas by calling us at 800-423-3937.

Nearsighted Risk in Children

atrittel — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:06:12 +0000

Greater Houston Ophthalmologist Bernard Milstein, M.D. relayed information on nearsighted risk in children. “According to researchers reporting on the risk of nearsightedness or myopia in children, increased time spent in natural light and viewing distant objects during childhood may reduce the risk of nearsightedness,” reported Dr. Milstein of The Eye Clinic of Texas. A review of data of 10,400 participants showed that for each additional hour outdoors per week, the chance of developing myopia dropped by about 2%, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It was reported that myopic or nearsighted children included in the study tended to spend about 3.7 fewer hours per week outdoors than children with normal vision or hyperopia. Furthermore, increasing outdoor time might reduce the chances of myopia worsening, according to the release.

If you or someone you know have questions about children’s eye health and vision or wish to schedule an eye examination for children of any age please feel free to contact to call The Eye Clinic of Texas at 800-423-3937 to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Clinic of Texas Offers Free Glaucoma Screening

atrittel — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:18:01 +0000

The Eye Clinic of Texas wants to remind greater Galveston and Houston eye care patients that Prevent Blindness America has designated January as National Glaucoma Awareness Month. “We are particularly sensitive to the need to build awareness for timely glaucoma screening and evaluation in our community as glaucoma is a leading cause of preventable blindness with a predilection for our African-American and Hispanic populations,” stated Bernard Milstein, M.D., Ophthalmologist and Founder of The Eye Clinic of Texas.

More than 3 million Americans, and nearly 70 million people worldwide, have glaucoma. It is estimated that half of them don’t even know they have it as a result of limited access to eye care. “In combination with the rapid growth of the aging population in Houston and throughout Texas, the threat of preventable blindness looms large if we don’t raise awareness about the importance of regular eye examinations to preserve vision,” commented Texas Ophthalmologist Allan Fradkin, M.D., Co-Founder of The Eye Clinic of Texas. “This is an important time to spread the word about this sight-stealing disease. Our understanding of this disease along with the ways in which we can diagnose and treat it have improved considerably”, commented Dr. Fradkin. The most common type of glaucoma—primary open angle glaucoma—is hereditary. The Nottingham Glaucoma Study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology evaluated the risk that siblings of Glaucoma patients would themselves develop glaucoma within their lifetime and found that siblings of glaucoma patients were 5 times more likely to develop glaucoma by age 70. “This is why we strongly recommend that siblings of glaucoma patients and even glaucoma suspects be monitored for glaucoma, each and every year, said Dr. Fradkin.

As a service to patients and their families, The Eye Clinic of Texas is offering a Free Glaucoma Screening at our Galveston office located at 2302 Avenue P, Galveston, TX 7750 between January 23, 2012 and February 29, 2012 from 8:15 AM-5:00 PM, Monday thru Friday. Anyone interested in a Free Glaucoma Screening can simply phone 1-800-423-3937 to reserve a spot for the screening.

To learn more about The Eye Clinic of Texas you may visit http://www.ecot.com or http://www.facebook.com/ecot.lasik

For additional information, contact:

Amy Trittel, The Eye Clinic of Texas, 2302 Avenue P, Galveston, Texas 77550, atrittel@ecot.com, 1-800-423-3937