Glaucoma treatment
Glaucoma is an eye disorder that can affect your eyesight and cause permanent loss of vision. In glaucoma, the pressure within the eye fluid damages the delicate optic nerve.
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What is it for?
For the treatment of glaucoma
Treatment overview
If glaucoma isn't diagnosed quickly and treated effectively, it can cause loss of vision. The London Clinic offers expert glaucoma diagnosis and treatment by world-leading ophthalmic surgeons.
Failing sight can affect your wellbeing, your career, and your quality of life. The London Clinic's ophthalmologists provide the latest evidence-led treatments for glaucoma.
Eye drops can control glaucoma for many people.
However, if the eye pressure is not controlled with medication, the eye surgeons can operate to relieve the pressure, protect your eyes and safeguard your vision
Treatment options
Glaucoma treatment aims to decrease pressure in your eyes, prevent optic nerve damage, and protect your eyesight.
The specialist will calculate a ‘target eye pressure’ to safeguard your vision. The best treatment will depend on the type of glaucoma and your eyes.
For primary open-angle glaucoma this could include:
Eye drops: Medicated eye drops can reduce eye pressure by decreasing fluid production or improving fluid drainage.
When used regularly, drops are usually able to control glaucoma, without the need for further treatment.
Laser treatment: The eye surgeons can use a laser to treat the eye's trabecular meshwork and help fluid drain away. This reduces eye pressure.
Glaucoma surgery: If your eye pressure is not controlled by medication or laser, surgery can control the condition.
The London Clinic offers a range of procedures, including trabeculectomy, which is described below, to reduce the eye pressure and protect your eyes.
If you have acute closed-angle glaucoma, emergency treatment is essential to prevent permanent loss of vision:
- Medication: Prompt administration of medication as eye drops, tablets, or injection can reduce the pressure and restore vision. However, you will need corrective surgery to stop the condition recurring.
- Peripheral iridotomy: Laser surgery in which the surgeon makes a drainage channel in the iris. The hole allows aqueous fluid to flow away and reduces pressure.
The expert ophthalmic surgeons at The London Clinic can provide specialist assessment, investigation, and advice if you are worried about your eyes or vision.
Why choose The London Clinic
Excellence in one place
We operate as teams of experts with world-class resources dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of medical care. You are surrounded by the latest treatments and advice with everything you need to get back to your best health.
Personal care, every time
Exceptional patient care is a way of life for us. Our nurses, clinicians and support teams are dedicated to the care of a very small number of patients, so have more time for you. They’ll be with you every step of the way, tailoring your care around you and giving the peace-of-mind that comes with knowing you’re in the best hands.
Effortlessly simple
We work together as one to guide you through each step of your experience, with complexities unravelled and answers readily to hand. Your personal treatment plan will be laid out for you, with all the details taken care of so you can focus on you.
What's included in your package?
Choosing The London Clinic means your treatment plan will be laid out for you, with all the details taken care of so you can focus on you.
Your treatment package will include:
- Enhanced pre-admission assessment
- Your treatment with our complete care team at your fingertips
- Personalised aftercare and follow-up
We want you to be in control of your health. That’s why we also offer optional services such as comprehensive recovery packages and extra touches for you to choose from during your stay with us.
How to pay
- You can use private medical insurance (PMI) to access this treatment. We work with all major PMI providers in the UK and many internationally
- You can pay for yourself (self-pay)
- If you’re paying for yourself, we have finance options available with Chrysalis
FAQs
Glaucoma is a common eye condition in which pressure builds up in the eye and damages the optic nerve.
In a normal eye, the eye pressure is balanced to optimise health and function and maintain the eye's shape.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that cause visual impairment and sight loss by damaging the optic nerve, the pathway connecting the eye with the brain. The types of glaucoma are:
- Primary open-angle glaucoma or POAG: The eye pressure progressively increases and damages the optic nerve. This is the most common type of glaucoma and causes a gradual deterioration in vision.
- Acute angle closure glaucoma: There is a sudden increase in pressure due to blockage of aqueous fluid drainage. This condition causes sudden pain and, if not treated quickly, can quickly and permanently damage eyesight.
- Secondary glaucoma: Eye injuries, medication, and surgery can sometimes cause glaucoma.
- Congenital glaucoma: A rare condition in which glaucoma develops in young babies.
Anyone with glaucoma needs prompt, effective treatment to prevent visual loss.
However, glaucoma is often a silent problem, with people noticing no symptoms until their vision is permanently damaged.
If you have noticed a visual problem or have not had a recent eye test, the ophthalmologists at The London Clinic can provide expert assessment and care.
It’s important to see a specialist if you’ve experienced:
- Visual change: Glaucoma can affect the peripheral vision, cause blind spots, and lead to tunnel vision in advanced disease.
- Pain and redness: In acute angle closure glaucoma, the pressure rises rapidly. The sudden change can make the eye red and painful. It can also make you feel sick and unwell. Your eyesight may be affected; some people see rainbow-coloured halos surrounding white lights.
Your consultant ophthalmologist will assess and advise you in The London Clinic’s comfortable, well-equipped consulting rooms.
They will take a detailed medical history, examine your eyes, evaluate your vision, and ask about the impact your symptoms have on your wellbeing and lifestyle.
The London Clinic's Eye Centre has state-of-the-art facilities for the early diagnosis of glaucoma. Investigations may include:
- Optic nerve examination: The specialist will apply drops to dilate the pupils. They will then carefully inspect the back of your eye. Drops can affect your vision, so a family member or friend should take you home.
- Eye pressure analysis: Your consultant will apply anaesthetic eye drops then measure the pressure using a specialist device or perform the puff of air test.
- Visual field assessment: Computerised testing can identify problems with peripheral vision, blind spots, and field defects.
- Gonioscopy: A technique to measure the angle of aqueous fluid drainage using a mirrored lens.
In consultation with you, they will plan your treatment and explain your options and explain the risks and benefits of any procedures.
The London Clinic’s ophthalmic surgeons carry out glaucoma surgery as a day case procedure in our high-tech, ophthalmic operating rooms.
They often operate under local anaesthetic, although the clinic also offers general anaesthetic. It takes between 45 and 75 minutes.
Your surgeon will make a small hole in the tissue that lines the sclera, the white of your eyes.
This channel allows excess fluid to drain away, reducing the eye pressure.
The drainage channel is permanent. The fluid drains to a reservoir or bleb on the surface of the eye. The bleb is hidden under the upper eyelid.
Following your surgery, The London Clinic’s experienced team will support you as you recover.
You will usually be able to go home on the day of the operation. You may be prescribed eye drops to use regularly.
Your surgeon will closely monitor your eye and your pressures. They will check your eye on the day after the operation and will arrange several outpatient appointments to review your progress.
You should take it easy and stay off work for two weeks, longer if you have a physical job.
While you're healing, avoid heavy lifting, do not submerge your head in water, and avoid bending so your head is below your waist.
Your surgeon will let you know when it’s safe to get back to normal activities.
If you have any problems or worries, contact the eye team at The London Clinic for advice and assessment.