Ophthalmology

While cataracts may not impede a person’s day-to-day life in their early stages, they often cause impairment because they cause cloudy or blurry vision. A person with cataracts may choose to have cataract surgery at that point to obtain clearer vision. During cataract surgery a person’s natural eye lense that is clouded (the cataract is the “cloud”) is replaced with a new, artificial one.

At IU Health, we know that diabetes can have a drastic impact on many parts of the body, including the eyes. Diabetic retinopathy, caused by diabetes, is the abnormal change or growth of blood vessels in the eyes. Vision loss associated with diabetic retinopathy is irreversible and ophthalmologists suggest an annual eye exam for diabetics. Treatments including laser surgery and microscopic surgery are available.

Often an age-related disease, macular degeneration is the breakdown of the eye’s macula. The macula is the part of the retina that is most sensitive to detail, allowing a person to read small print or do needlework. Depending on the type and severity of a patient’s macular degeneration, supplements, injections of medicines, laser treatments or other therapy could be used to treat the disease. Our physicians are highly skilled and experienced in diagnosing and choosing the proper treatment for macular degeneration.

Ptosis, or a drooping of the eyelid, can restrict or even block vision in patients and does not improve without treatment. Caused by the weakening of the levator muscle, which lifts the eyelid, IU Health offers treatment in the form of surgery. Depending on the severity of the ptosis, the IU Health physicians could recommend part of the excess eyelid skin be removed or the reattachment of the levator muscle.

Pediatric ophthalmologists treat a wide range of children’s and adolescent’s eye diseases. Our pediatric ophthalmologists treat strabismus (eye misalignment), amblyopia (lazy eye), tear duct obstructions and ptosis (drooping eyelid) along with more serious conditions such as retinoblastoma (childhood eye cancer), pediatric glaucoma and pediatric cataracts.

Corneal disease and injury can cause swelling or scarring, which cause the cornea to distort light and impair vision. Treatment for injuries and cornea transplants are available from highly skilled ophthalmologists.