Eye surgery
In ophthalmology there are numerous surgical methods for the treatment of organic or functional eye diseases and for the correction of movement disorders or visual defects of the eye (referred to as ametropia, i.e. the deviation of an eye from normal vision).
Each of these methods aims to restore the patient’s vision and also requires its own instruments in principle. In almost all ophthalmological procedures, however, a device is used that keeps the eye open and the surgical area accessible to the surgeon: this is commonly known as the lid retractor.
Treatments
Today, ophthalmology offers a wide range of surgical options, ranging from refractive correction (measuring the refractive power of the lens and determining the correction value so the eye can see clear and well-defined images again) to surgical treatment for eye diseases.
Some of these surgical methods are now among the most frequently performed surgical procedures in modern medicine. The main diseases and therefore surgical interventions in ophthalmology include
- cataracts. This is an eye disease in which the lens of the eye becomes cloudy. As a result, vision decreases and fine details can no longer be clearly recognised.
- vitreous body and retinal surgery. This includes numerous surgical interventions on the eye that affect the vitreous body or retina. As the vitreous body and retina are adjacent to each other, both parts together are often affected by disease and dealt with by surgery accordingly.
- glaucoma. The term “glaucoma” refers to various eye diseases in which the optic nerve is damaged. Damage to the optic nerve leads to larger and larger gaps emerging in the visual field (the range of what can be seen without moving the eyes). These usually go unnoticed to begin with. In the advanced stages of glaucoma, visual acuity also decreases.
- corneal transplantation (also known as keratoplasty). This becomes necessary when the cornea no longer adequately fulfils one or more of its functions (transparency, clear image, firmness) and remedial action can only be taken by transplanting a clear, human cornea.
- lid surgery. Eyelid problems treated by surgery include age-related slackening of the eyelid in the area of the upper eyelid (dermatochalasis), eyelid malpositions (lid turned outwards or inwards) and new tissue formation in the area of the eyelid. Problems with the eyelid are often not merely aesthetic in nature, but can also lead to increased or decreased flow of tears or to limitation of a person’s field of vision.
