Glaucoma Care & Treatment in Chapel Hill

If you are diagnosed with glaucoma, our Chapel Hill ophthalmologist can offer you several treatment options. Learn how glaucoma affects your vision, plus how we treat the disease to safeguard your eyesight. 

What is Glaucoma?  

Glaucoma generally causes increased pressure inside your eye, which damages your optic nerve and causes vision loss if not treated. The eye condition may be hereditary. Individuals who are Latino, Asian or African face increased risk, as do diabetics and people with high blood pressure.

If you notice changes to your vision, such as blind spots or blur, it's important to get checked out by our Chapel Hill eye doctor. Our Chapel Hill ophthalmologist recommends getting screened once a year, so we can find symptoms of glaucoma and provide sufficient treatment. 

Glaucoma Treatment in Chapel Hill

Our Chapel Hill eye doctor checks your eyes and measures your internal eye pressure for signs of glaucoma. If your eye pressure is elevated, we have several options to lower it and preserve your sight. We start with eye drops or pills, which lower the pressure in your eyes and prevent glaucoma from progressing.

If pills or eye drops no longer work to control your glaucoma, our eye doctor in Chapel Hill can move toward surgery. Laser surgery alters your eye's natural drainage, so your eyes can regulate their internal pressure. Another type of laser surgery changes the trabecular meshwork, to allow more fluid to drain from the eyes. Laser surgery is fast, effective, and painless. Many patients respond positively to laser surgery. 

If this glaucoma treatment in Chapel Hill isn’t effective, our eye doctor in Chapel Hill may insert drains in your eyes. Silicone drainage tubes lower your eye pressure, preserving your sight. Or we may recommend traditional surgery that creates a flap in the whites of your eyes, allowing internal eye fluid to drain. 

See an Ophthalmologist in Chapel Hill

Would you like to see our ophthalmologist in Chapel Hill for a glaucoma screening, or anything else? To reserve your appointment please complete the form on our website or call us today.