Iridectomy at clinics and hospitals worldwide

Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine which focuses specifically on the eyes. MEDIGO is home to countless clinics across the world whose expert staff specialize in affordable, quality eye procedures. This ensures that patients are able to receive various procedures for a fraction of the price it would cost them in their own country of residence. One eye procedure in this particular branch of medicine, is an iridectomy. In short, it is where the surgeon removes a small, thick piece of the iris, which is the colored circular membrane behind the cornea of the eye. An iridectomy is also known as a corectomy. In recent years, laser eye surgery has also been used to perform iridectomies. Nowadays an iridectomy most frequently performed as closed-angle glaucoma treatment or a melanoma of the iris. An iridectomy is performed in order to treat glaucoma. Sometimes called a peripheral iridectomy, it is carried out in order to remove the root of the iris or a section of the periphery. Occasionally, an iridectomy is performed in preparation of cataract surgery which makes the removal of the eyes lens much more easy.

Just what is a closed-angle glaucoma?

A closed-angle glaucoma occurs when a fluid pressure builds up inside the eye. This is due to fluid, or aqueous humor, which the anterior chamber develops at the front of the eye. It is unable to exit this chamber in the usual way and therefore begins to build up pressure. The clear front section of the eye’s exterior cover is where the opening lies. It is at an angle where the iris meets the cornea.

In a closed-angle glaucoma, the iris has been unable to move forward resulting in having closed off the angle and thus blocked the fluid. Fluid pressure in the eye therefore is caused to rise rapidly and optic nerve damage occurs leading to blindness. Approximately 10% of the glaucoma cases reported in the United States alone is closed-angle. There are two main kinds of closed-angle glaucoma which are called primary and secondary that develop gradually in one eye at a time. A pupillary block is the usual cause of a primary closed-angle glaucoma. This is where the iris closes off the angle due to the eye’s pupil having become dilated.

Occasionally, the blockage occurs when in dim light the pupil become dilated or alternatively in very stressful or anxious situations. It can also happen as a reaction to drops which have been instilled while in an eye examination. Sometimes, the blockage is abrupt and complete, leading to an attack of acute closed-angle glaucoma. In primary glaucoma, the difference between the chronic or intermittent forms and an acute attack is usually due to small variations in the anatomical structure of the eye. These include an unusually shallow anterior chamber; a lens that is thicker than average and situated further forward in the eye.