Other Eye Procedures

Chalazion ​A chalazion, results from chronic inflammation, and not infection, of an eyelid oil gland that stimulates the formation of a surrounding cyst.  A chalazion may appear suddenly or slowly over many days. While it may shrink over several weeks and become painless, its core frequently remains intact. Sooner or later, the cyst flares up again and again and may gradually deform the eyelid and distort the eyelashes.  The removal is a minor surgical procedure that takes about ten minutes. Chalazion often is mistaken for a stye. A stye is an infection or small abscess around the root of the eyelash.

Ptosis Repair Ptosis is a fairly common condition in which one or both of your upper eyelids droop so that the eyelid margin sags, crowding or even covering the pupil. The drooping can be to a small extent, or it can be substantial so that the eyelid actually inhibits your vision. It can even cause you to tilt your head back in order to see better.  The procedure is to raise the position of the upper eyelid margin by tightening the muscle and tendon that normally elevate it.

Functional Upper Lid Blepharoplasty Blepharoplasty is the scientific name for eyelid surgery, but there are different types of Blepharoplasty. Functional (medically necessary) Upper Lid Blepharoplasty is a procedure that removes excess skin from the upper lids that limits your peripheral vision and prevents you from seeing properly. An upper eyelid blepharoplasty should not be confused with ptosis repair which is a procedure to raise the position of the upper eyelid margin by tightening the muscle and tendon that normally elevate it. If you have droopy upper eyelids that are not impairing your vision enough for insurance coverage, you may opt for Cosmetic Upper Eyelid Blepharoplasty, performed for cosmetic reasons. In that case, insurance does not cover the procedure.

Ectropion Ectropion of the eyelid is a condition when the lower eyelid droops downward and begins to turn out. It’s usually a result of the aging process as the cartilage of the lower lid becomes stretched over time, but disease or injury can sometimes cause it as well. If your lower lid has begun to turn out and cause eye irritation, you may be a candidate for Ectropion Repair.  While Ectropion Repair will make you look better, it’s also necessary for the health of your eye.  Eventually, you could even suffer eye scarring as a result of the foreign bodies that can reach your eye without the protection of the lower lid. In extreme cases, an untreated ectropion eyelid can even lead to blindness. Therefore, it’s very important to have the condition corrected as soon as possible.

Entropion Entropion is a condition in which your eyelid turns inward so that your eyelashes and skin rub against the eye surface. This causes irritation and discomfort. When you have entropion, your eyelid may be turned in all the time or only when you blink hard or squeeze your eyelids shut. Entropion is more common in older adults, and it generally affects only the lower eyelid. Artificial tears and lubricating ointments can help relieve symptoms of entropion but usually surgery is needed to fully correct the condition. Left untreated, entropion can cause damage to the transparent covering in the front part of your eye (cornea), eye infections and vision loss.

DACRYOCYSTORHINOSTOMY (DCR) Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is a procedure performed for the treatment of tearing (epiphora) due to blockage of the nasolacrimal duct. Tears originate in the lacrimal gland, located at the upper outer margin of the eye. As tears cross the eye with each blink, they are directed into small openings in the eyelids called puncta. From this point, tears travel through a pathway known as the canalicular system into the lacrimal sac. The lacrimal sac is located between the eye and the nose, and funnels tears into the nasal cavity through the nasolacrimal duct. As this is quite a long path for tears to travel, there can be many causes of excessive tearing. Blockage of the nasolacrimal duct is one common cause, and can be treated by creating a direct opening from the lacrimal sac into the nasal cavity in a procedure known as DCR. 

Orbital and Eye Trauma Orbital trauma refers to an injury to the “orbit”, the bony area that surrounds the eyes. Usually, this involves a fracture of one of these bones as a result of a car accident, sports injury, fall, fight, or blow to the eye by a hard object. Surgery is performed to restore both function and appearance after this trauma. Also, injuries to the delicate and important soft tissues of the eyelids and adjacent facial structures. 

Enucleation In cases of severe eye injury, eye cancer or other serious disease of the eye, it may be impossible to save the eye and the eyeball must be surgically removed. The most common type of procedure to remove a badly damaged or diseased eye is called enucleation.  Once the affected eye is surgically removed, the person undergoing the enucleation procedure typically is fitted with a custom-made prosthetic eye (also called an artificial eye, "glass eye" or ocular prosthesis).  This may be a staged procedure, meaning it may take more than one operation to complete the process.  Although a prosthetic eye cannot restore vision, it can provide a more natural appearance. Modern prosthetic eyes are custom-made and matched in size and color to the remaining natural eye in such detail that it's often difficult for others to notice that a person is "wearing" a glass eye.

Pterygium A pterygium (plural: pterygia) is a benign growth of the conjunctiva (the lining of the white part of the eye) that grows onto the cornea, which is the clear tissue that is in front of the iris (the colored part of the eye). A pterygium usually begins on the side of the eye closer to the nose. Pterygia can vary in color. Patients with pterygium often first notice the condition because of the appearance of a lesion on their eye or because of dry, itchy irritation, tearing or redness. Pterygium is usually first detected when it is confined only to the conjuctiva. At this stage it is called a pingueculum. Once it extends to the cornea it is termed a pterygium and can eventually lead to impaired vision.

Surgical Treatment For patients with severe cases whose vision has been affected, different types of surgery are available. Surgery is the only way to definitively remove a pterygium, but it requires long-term follow-up, and there is a risk that the pterygium will grow back.

​Conjunctival auto-grafting is a safe and effective technique that surgically removes a pterygium. In this procedure, the pterygium is removed along with the conjunctiva (the tissue covering the sclera). Tissue is removed from the inside of the patient’s upper eye and transplanted onto the bare sclera.

Amniotic membrane transplantation is another safe and effective pterygium removal procedure. Tissue is removed from the inner layer of a donor placenta and used to reconstruct the surface of the eye. This type of graft encourages healing and reduces swelling. Mitomycin is a medication that may be used at the time of surgery to reduce the chance of pterygium recurrence.