Eye Floater Treatments – At some point the most people have noticed that annoying little grey spot that obstructed their field of view at least once in their life. These little grey obstructions, called floaters, can be annoying and in some cases debilitating enough to cause people to see their eye doctor about them. There are no safe proven methods to rid eye floaters completely, but there are two treatments given that are proving popular in just this.
YAG Laser Vitreolysis
This is a special laser created specifically for the purposes of targeting eye floaters with a laser “shot.” All eye doctors are familiar with YAG lasers for operations on cataracts, but YAG lasers made to rid eye floaters go specifically into the eyes vitreous jelly where the floaters reside.
YAG laser treatment works by breaking up deposits of condensation in the vitreous jelly of the eye, known as eye floaters. Each session requires 100 to 300 shots, and depending on the severity, finishes within 5 minutes to an hour. You may come in for multiple sessions with the YAG laser, as some eye floaters may not be visible to your doctor during the first procedure. This procedure has minimal risks documented. The FDA does not yet approve of YAG treatment for eye floater removal. In most cases, medical insurance companies cover this procedure as a general eye laser surgery.
Not many Opthalmic surgeons possess the special training required to carry out such a procedure. Due to this, only a few clinics in the United States offer the treatment.
FO Vitrectomy
This treatment works well for people who suffer from multiple floaters or severe impairments from a few. FO Vitrectomy is a microsurgical procedure performed by an Opthalmic surgeon who has trained in this specifically.
The surgeon will dilate the eye, and then look through a special lens used to see the back. He then makes 2 to 3 small incisions on the sclera (white of the eye). Inside these incisions are where the surgeon will insert a fiber optic light used to illuminate the eye, an infusion line used to keep the shape of the eye and the instrument he uses to cut and remove the vitreous. The whole procedure takes about 30 minutes to complete and with the new sutureless procedure only half the time.
Although this is the most recommended procedure for removal of eye floaters, there are rare side effects associated with FO Vitrectomy’s. Bleeding in the eye, retinal detachment and the development of cataracts are just a few. For the most part the procedure is widely practiced and side effects of this caliber are rare. There is also a risk of seeing some remnant floaters, since only selected parts of the vitreous are removed. Patients have also complained of being able to see the vitreous after surgery.
References
1 EyeFloaters.com – Laser Surgery
2 Eye Associates of Marquette
3 EyeFloaters.com – Why few doctors
4 EyeFloaters.com – Vitrectomy
5 EyeFloaters.com – Cost and Insurance
6 EyeFloaters.com – Vitrectomy Procedure
