Shiley’s comprehensive ophthalmology division provides primary eye care for all conditions of the eye and surrounding structures, both routine and urgent. This specialty offers routine ophthalmic evaluations which screen and treat a wide range of ophthalmic conditions including cataracts, ocular surface disorders, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. Diagnostic services include evaluation of visual acuity, refraction, slit lamp evaluation, ophthalmoscopy, tonometry, gonioscopy and visual field testing.
Typical treatments include prescription medications and/or optical correction, however, occasional surgical intervention for cataracts and laser treatments are offered as part of comprehensive ophthalmology. The comprehensive ophthalmology division refers patients to the Department’s subspecialty ophthalmologists for evaluations regarding eye surgery and/or long-term treatment. The comprehensive service handles most of the general ocular problems and those patients desiring screenings for cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
When you take a picture with a camera, the lens in the front of the camera allows light to pass through and focus that light on the film that covers the back side of the camera. A picture is taken when the light hits the film. Our eyes work in a very similar way. The front of the eye (the cornea, pupil and lens) is clear, which allows light to pass through. The cornea and lens of the eye focuses the light on the back wall of the eye, the retina. Like the film, the retina is the “seeing” tissue of the eye, sending messages to the brain through the optic nerve, allowing us to see.
Perfect vision is 20/20. A person is legally blind when their better eye’s best corrected visual acuity is less than 20/200. A person can also be legally blind if their side vision in their better eye is narrowed to 20 degrees or less. Although someone may be legally blind, some vision still may be useful and helpful for everyday life. Legally blind people may qualify for certain government benefits.
Low vision is not blindness, but is a level of vision below normal (20/70 or worse) that cannot be corrected with conventional glasses. Low vision can interfere with a person’s performance of daily activities, including reading or driving.
