Glaucoma

Glaucoma is not just one disease, but a group of conditions resulting in optic nerve damage, which diminishes sight. Abnormally high pressure inside the eye, usually, but not always, causes this damage. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness. Sometimes called the silent thief of sight, glaucoma can damage your vision so gradually you don’t notice any loss of vision until the disease is at an advanced stage. Early diagnosis and treatment can minimize or prevent optic nerve damage and limit glaucoma-related vision loss.

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT)

A common laser treatment for glaucoma is called Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty or SLT. In SLT, laser treatment is applied to the drain of your eye in order to open it up and let the fluid out, lowering the eye pressure and saving your sight. SLT treatment takes only a few minutes, is performed in the office, is safe and effectively lowers eye pressure in most people. The treatment is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating glaucoma, and is covered by essentially all insurance plans.