Questions sent by
P**** via Email
Can Canaloplasty be done on a patient that has been on meds for 23 yrs – xalatan mostly, who has pigmentary glaucoma?
Yes, so long as the angles are open (something that can only be confirmed with an in-person examination. It should be noted, however, that chronic medication use does potentially decrease the success rate of many of the glaucoma surgical options such as SLT, trabeculectomy, and possibly even canaloplasty.
I’ve noticed vision loss in right central vision (much stronger eye) ..recent visual field showed poor results. Im 58, need to work as computer designer for another 15 yrs. cannot deal with blurry vision from trabeculectomy!!!!
ANSWER:
Work requirements and life passions are two of the top reasons people choose canaloplasty over trabeculectomy. Not all trabeculectomies result in blurred vision, but given the nature of a bleb ocular surface issues are expected to be more common so that could be an issue for you as a computer designer.
Im a kaiser patient and dr. Totally told me little to nothing about the HORRIBLE side effects which are permanent and irreversible.
I hear that too often.
It will render me unemployable after a 30yr successful career as a designer….yet not qualify for permanent disability. Can you help?
I would like to have the opportunity
I live on SF Bay area and i have no idea if kaiser physicians will work with you..have you tried to work that way?
We have had a few patients with Kaiser insurance come to me for canaloplasty surgery. I wouldn’t exactly say that the Kaiser physicians “work with me”, but they have been willing to take over the local post-operative care (albeit perhaps a bit begrudgingly). One of my patients with Kaiser is from Northern California and she was able to get them to reimburse her for surgery on both eyes. It was a fight, however, which took her many months to win. If you’d like I can have my nurse, Ana (copied on this email), see if this patient would be willing to share her experience with you. **
Im not sure if i have PDS or stabilized PG…ive spent the last two weeks getting an education in glaucoma disease and surgery options…you seem to be one of a TINY handful of practitioners of canaloplasty in CA
Unfortunately, I’m one of the TINY handful of canaloplasty surgeons in the world. You are relatively fortunate in that you are only an hour flight away. Just the other week I saw a patient from Quebec. I have patients who have flown from the east coast, Alaska, and even as far away as Australia, India, and Indonesia to have canaloplasty surgery. *
tell me how id get treated and surgery followup (length of recovery and monitoring post surgery)
With regard to coordinating your initial consultation, that’s best done with Ana. We have office hours this Saturday and she should be available around 2pm to discuss by phone.
With regard to the issues related to traveling away from home for eye surgery, we have this come up so frequently that we’ve created a short guide that should answer most of your questions:
Warm regards,
David Richardson, MD
Patient-Focused Ophthalmologist
San Marino Eye
2020 Huntington Drive
San Marino, CA 91108
626.289.7856
Patient-Focused Websites:
New-Glaucoma-Treatments.com
About-Eyes.com
Posted in: Canaloplasty, Canaloplasty and Other Conditions