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Glaucoma cannot be diagnosed by a simple screening pressure test, a common misperception amongst many patients.  This is because up to 20% of people may have normal pressures at time of screening.  Conversely, many patients with elevated intraocular pressures may not have glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a preventable disease that can lead to loss of vision and even blindness.  In susceptible patients visual loss can occur quickly.  This disease is so insidious that visual loss can be quite profound without the patient even being aware of it.

North Shore Eye Care's first Symposium for Continuing Education for Optometrists was a huge success.  There were interesting speakers from many disciplines of eye care and practice management.  Our long island eye care practice in smithtown new york was proud to offer this opportunity for the local optometry population.  The day went very well and was enjoyed by all.

Diabetes, a major cause of blindness in the United States has reached epidemic proportions.  In this blog Dr. Zweibel discusses screening and treatment options.

Cataract surgery has improved dramatically over the past ten years.  In Long Island New York in Suffolk County, North Shore eye care has been a leader in cataract care for many years.  A cataract is a cloudy lens of the eye that develops as we age.  Cataracts are a normal part of aging.  When a cataract gets significant enough to cause blurred vision, our board certified cataract surgeons will speak to you about cataract surgery.  Our New York eye doctors perform cataract surgery right here on Long Island and use the most up to date technology and techniques.  We remove the cloudy lens using gentle computer controlled ultrasound called phacoemulsifcation. 

Here at North Shore Eye Care, all of our board certified physicians Dr Sidney Martin, Dr Larry Zweibel, Dr Jeff Martin and Dr John Mauro, all are experienced in the proper screening, diagnosis and treatment of many eye diseases. This includes: glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes, macular degeneration, dry eye syndrome, uveitis, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, allergies, emergency eye problems and general eye examinations. In addition, we are one of Long Island's leading authorities in laser refractive surgery (LASIK/PRK/LASEK). In Long Island (suffolk and nassau counties), we see patients from smithtown, nesconset, saint james, kings park, cold spring harbor, huntington, commack, northport, dix hills, melville, centerport, greenlawn, plainview, woodbury, syosset, massapequa, sayville, manhasset, jericho, muttontown, east meadow, merrick, rockville center, garden city, mineola, roslyn, manhasset, levittown, new york city, brooklyn, bronx, queens, and many other towns.

Glaucoma occurs in about 2% of the population over 40, even though less frequently it can also affect children and young adults. People with glaucoma usually have slow form of the condition, primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in which it takes years for it to incur damage to the eye. Many studies have shown that close to over one-third of cases remain undiagnosed. Risk factors for glaucoma include race, age, diabetes, smoking and family history.

What actually happens during glaucoma is that the optic nerve suffers damage related to having higher pressures in the eye over a period of time. The optic nerve is sort of like a fiber optic cable that connects the eye to the brain. It carries a lot of information to the brain related to vision. Typically in glaucoma, the optic nerve damage causes  loss of peripheral vision that varies in from patient to patient. Eventually, if not treated, the loss of vision usually gets worse over the course of many months to years. It is very important to understand that the loss of vision in glaucoma is usually permanent in adults. This is why early treatment is imperative and why we screen more diligently now as opposed to 30 years ago. A full ophthalmic  examination is essential to detect glaucoma early and help prevent vision loss. Unfortunately, because central vision is usually not affected until advanced stages, people are unaware that they have it.

Here at North Shore Eye Care, all of our board certified physicians Dr Sidney Martin, Dr Larry Zweibel, Dr Jeff Martin and Dr John Mauro, all are experienced in the proper screening, diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. In Long Island (suffolk and nassau counties), we see patients from smithtown, nesconset, saint james, kings park, cold spring harbor, huntington, commack, northport, dix hills, melville, deer park, centerport, greenlawn, bethpage, plainview, woodbury, syosset, massapequa, sayville, lindenhurst, bay shore, babylon, farmingdale, farmingville, manhasset, jericho, muttontown, east meadow, merrick, rockville center, garden city, mineola, roslyn, manhasset, levittown, new york city, manhattan, brooklyn, bronx, queens, and many other towns.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States. It is one of the  leading causes of blindness among African-Americans, and the leading cause of PREVENTABLE blindness in the United States. It's estimated that over 2 million Americans have glaucoma, and at least half of them are not aware they have the disease. Glaucoma is the name given to an eye disease in which the optic nerve at the back of the eye is slowly destroyed by damage due to an increased pressure inside the eye. Usually a result of blockage of the circulation of the fluid inside the eye called aqueous humor. It may also occur due to inadequate drainage. In some patients the damage may be caused by a weakness in the structure of the optic nerve, and/or a problem in the blood supply to the vital optic nerve fibers.  Damage usually progresses very slowly and destroys vision gradually, starting with the peripheral vision. Usually, early damage can be masked because one eye covers for the other, and the person may remain unaware of any problem until a majority of nerve has been damaged, and a large part of vision has been destroyed. This damage is irreversible. Glaucoma can be progressive and usually relentless unless treated appropriately. Treatment cannot recover what has been lost but can arrest, or at least slow the progression.

Glaucoma can occur at any age but occurs more frequently during advancing years. It is very important to detect the problem as early as possible, to be able to start treatment with as little damage to the vision as possible. Individuals who are at more risk to develop glaucoma include: family history of glaucoma, diabetes, farsightedness, previous eye injuries, high blood pressure and chronic use of steroids. Annual eye exams are the standard in early detection. Various tests such as optic nerve examination, visual field assessment, eye pressure check, scanning of the optic nerve and corneal thickness examination are usually performed for diagnosis and to monitor disease progression.

Treatment is initiated with medication in the form of drops that must be used regularly and/or laser therapy (called SLT). There are surgical treatments as well, but these are usually reserved for patients who either do not respond to medical therapy, are not compliant with there treatment regimen or have advanced disease.

At North Shore Eye Care, our board certified eye doctors, Dr. S. Martin, Dr. Zweibel, Dr. J. Martin, and Dr. Mauro see many patients with glaucoma. In Long Island (Suffolk and Nassau Counties), we see patients from smithtown, nesconset, saint james, kings park, centereach, selden, coram, middle island, riverhead, ridge, stony brook, setauket, port jefferson, shoreham, wading river, miller place, mt sinai, rocky point, patchogue, medford, farmingdale, farmingville, bellport, bayport, blue point, yaphank, brookhaven, shirley, mastic, moriches, manorville, calverton, jamesport, cutchogue, mattituck, southold, eastport, westhampton, east hampton, southampton, sag harbor, montauk, amagansett, hampton bays, kings park, islandia, islip, hauppauge, lake grove, bohemia, ronkonkoma, holtsville, holbrook, sayville, commack, stony brook, setauket, port jefferson, nissequogue, head of the harbor, old field, poquott, belle terre, fort salonga huntington,  northport, cold spring harbor, dix hills, melville, deer park, centerport, greenlawn, plainview woodbury, syosset, bethpage, massapequa, lindenhurst, sayville, bay shore, babylon, roslyn, great neck, manhasset, east meadow, merrick, rockville center, garden city, mineola, and many other towns including queens, brooklyn, manhattan.

Uveitis is inflammation anywhere in lining of the eye, known as the uvea, or uveal tract. The inflammation is named according to its location, as anterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, or panuveitis (or inflammation that affects the entire uveal tract). Sometimes, uveitis is referred to by the name of the specific part that is inflamed—for example, iritis (inflammation of the iris), choroiditis (inflammation of the choroid), or chorioretinitis (inflammation that involves both the choroid and the overlying retina). Uveitis can occur because of infection, autoimmune disorders (which causes the body to attack its own tissues), or for unknown reasons.

Examples of autoimmune disorders include; Anklosing Spondylitis, Antiphospholipid Syndrome, Addison’s Disease, Hepatitis, Behcet’s Disease, Pemphigoid, Crohn’s Disease, Dermatomyositis, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Grave’s Disease, Juvenile Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis, Polyarteritis Nodosa, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Psoriasis, Reiter’s Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Scleroderma, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Temporal Arteritis/Giant Cell Arteritis, Ulcerative Colitis, Wegener’s Granulomatosis. Infections include tuberculosis, syphilis, Lyme disease, herpes simplex virus, shingles (varicella-zoster virus), toxoplasmosis, and cytomegalovirus.

Symptoms of uveitis including eye pain and aching, eye redness, sensitivity to bright light, flashing lights, loss of peripheral vision, or blurred vision and floaters are typical. A eye physician may be able to see prominent blood vessels on the surface of the eye or cornea, white blood cells floating in the fluid that fills the front part of the eye (aqueous humor), and deposits of white blood cells on the inside surface of the cornea.

An eye physician makes the diagnosis and treatment based on the symptoms and a complete physical examination. Depending on suspicion for diseases that also affects other organs, appropriate tests are done. Uveitis is a serious eye disease and can rapidly damage the eye. It can cause long-term, vision-threatening complications, such as glaucoma, and cataracts. Many people have only one episode of uveitis. Others may have periodic recurrences over months to years. All patients with a history of autoimmune disorders should be seen regularly by an eye doctor.

The ophthalmologists at North Shore Eye Care  have consistently been recognized in Castle Connelly's book of Top Doctors. All of the surgeons are board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.  More recently Dr. John Mauro has joined the practice and is well recognized for his work in ocular immunology and inflammation, allergic disease and auto-immune disorders.

In Long Island (Suffolk and Nassau Counties), we see patients from Smithtown, nesconset, saint james, kings park, centereach, selden, coram, middle island, riverhead, ridge, stony brook, setauket, port jefferson, shoreham, wading river, miller place, mt sinai, rocky point, patchogue, medford, farmingdale, farmingville, bellport, bayport, blue point, yaphank, brookhaven, shirley, mastic, moriches, manorville, calverton, jamesport, cutchogue, mattituck, southold, eastport, westhampton, east hampton, southampton, sag harbor, montauk, amagansett, hampton bays and many other towns.

Cataract surgery is an elective outpatient procedure that helps over 1 million patients each year in the United States to see and function better.  At North Shore Eye Care in Smithtown New York in Long Island, our board certified cataract doctors and cataract surgeons specialize in the latest techniques in cataract surgery including small incision cataract surgery without using painful local needle injections.  Our board certified eye doctors and eye surgeons use eye drops for anesthesia and IV sedation for comfort.  Our patients stay in their own clothes and are able to return home the very same day.  Our cataract surgery technique does not require stitches or even an eye patch.  Since the eye is not covered, our patients are able to see right away and start the important postoperative eye drops.  Dr. Jeff Martin, Dr. John Mauro and Dr. Lawrence Zweibel specialize in premium intraocular lenses that reduce the need for glasses or contact lenses for all activities. An implant or IOL is always placed after the cataract or cloudy lens is removed using phacoemulsification or gentle computer controlled ultrasound.  The premium implants include the Crystalens, an accommodating lens as well as the multifocal lenses such as Tecnis Multifocal, Restor, and Rezoom.  We also use Acrysof Toric to reduce or eliminate astigmatism.

We do cataract surgery on many patients that also have glaucoma.  Glaucoma can occur as narrow angle or open angle.  With narrow angle glaucoma, cataract surgery can be more challenging due to the fact that there is less room to work with in the front of the eye.  Eyes with narrow angles tend to be smaller.  Our cataract surgeons are experienced with narrow angle cataract surgery and we take special steps to ensure the safest and best result.  Patients with open angle glaucoma usually are no different than normal eyes as far as cataract surgery is concerned.  At times, cataract surgery does cause a drop in the intraocular pressure to some degree without any further intervention.  In more severe glaucoma, we may elect to do a glaucoma procedure at the time of cataract surgery to further lower the intraocular pressure. 

In Long island new york in suffolk and  nassau county, we see patients from smithtown, nesconset, saint james, kings park, commack, northport, huntington, cold spring harbor, deer park, centerport, greenlawn, plainview, woodbury, syosset, bethpage, dix hills, melville, bay shore, babylon, massapequa, sayville, manhasset, garden city, east meadow, jericho, merrick, rockville center, new york city, queens, brooklyn, and many other towns.