A cataract is a clouding of areas of the lens of the eye. Cataracts are a natural part of aging but are also associated with diabetes and trauma to the eye. They can occur in newborns and early childhood. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists has found that by the age of 60, there is a 50% chance you will have had some form of cataract. People with cataracts say that their vision becomes increasingly poor as time goes on. This is because the clouding of the lens causes light passing through the cataract to decrease and scatter. Early symptoms include glare and sensitivity to bright light. Later, as the cataract worsens, haloes may appear around lights. Vision often becomes blurred, hazy and foggy.

One treatment for cataracts is surgery. In cataract surgery, the natural lens in the eye is removed, and an ‘intra-ocular lens’ (IOL) is implanted. Prior to the surgery, the Ophthalmologist calculates the correct type, size and power of IOL to suit your individual eye, based on comprehensive eye measurements. Cataract surgery is the most common surgery performed in Australia and has a very high success rate. All of the Ophthalmologists at NWES perform cataract surgery regularly, preferring the use of the phaco-emulsification technique of surgery.

The retina is a layer of special light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that sends nerve impulses up the optic nerve to the brain. In people with diabetes, tiny blood vessels in the retina may become diseased and damaged. This process is called diabetic retinopathy. It usually affects the retina slowly, over months or years.
The longer a person has diabetes, the greater the risk of diabetic retinopathy. All people with diabetes are at risk, whether or not they are insulin-dependent.

Diabetes can cause the blood vessels to swell and leak blood or fluid around the retina. The healing process forms scar tissue. These problems can damage the retina so badly that the retina functions less effectively, and vision is impaired. The area of the retina that provides the sharpest vision is called the macula. Leaking blood or fluid can cause the macular to swell. This causes blurred vision and is a common result of diabetic retinopathy.
NWES have sub-specialist ophthalmologists who are specialised in conditions of the retina.

Glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve that links the retina to the brain. It is a leading cause of damage to vision or blindness in people over 40, but can affect people of any age. Often, glaucoma is associated with too much pressure inside the eyeball. If glaucoma is detected early, treatment can prevent or reduce vision loss in most patients.

NWES ophthalmologists are very experienced in monitoring and treating all kinds of glaucoma.

The macula is a small area of the retina. It is highly sensitive and produces detailed, colour images in the centre of the field of vision. Age-related Macular Degeneration (MD) occurs when the macula is damaged. MD usually affects both eyes, but it may produce symptoms in one eye first. If MD continues to its late stages, severe visual impairment can result. In most cases, visual loss is in the central part of the vision.

The most common type of MD is age-related Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which usually occurs in people older than 50 years. When complications of AMD threaten sight and cause substantial disturbances of vision, the condition is called “late AMD”.

The two types of late AMD are:

– Dry AMD: develops slowly, usually over some years. As cells in the macula die in small patches, images fade and are unfocused, and small pieces of the image go missing. About four out of 10 people with AMD have the dry type.

– Wet AMD: new, abnormal blood vessels grow from the choroid layer (back of the eye) into the macula. These vessels leak, bleed, and scar tissue forms in and around the macula. Wet AMD causes more rapid and severe loss of vision than dry AMD. There is no effective treatment for dry AMD. However, significant advances have been made in the treatment of wet AMD.

NWES have sub-specialist ophthalmologists who specialise in diagnosing and treating Age-related Macular Degeneration.

Ocularplastic surgery is often required for disorders and reconstruction required of the tissues around the eye. It is often needed for ectropion (where the lower eyelid turns outward), entropion (where the eyelid turns inward and rubs on the eye), excessive eyelid skin, and where large areas of skin near the eye need to be excised due to tumours or lesions. Ocularplastic surgery is performed on the orbit, eyelids, tear ducts and the face.

Dr Mike Haybittel and Dr Rob McKay have a special interest in this surgery.

Vitreoretinal surgery is often required for conditions such as retinal detachment, macula hole, epiretinal membranes, diabetic retinopathy and vitreous haemorrhage. Vitreoretinal surgery is a highly sub-specialised area of ophthalmology that requires a specially trained theatre team and state of the art equipment. NWES are fortunate to have the services of Dr Andrew Traill, one of only a few vitreoretinal surgeons in Tasmania.

Dr Traill provides the vitreoretinal surgical services from North West Hospital in Burnie.