Our Services | Panay Eye Center

We provide cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic ophthalmology services to our patients.

GLAUCOMA SCREENING

Automated Visual Field (AVF) Testing

Using Panay Eye Center's Zeiss Humphrey Perimeter unit, your doctor will be able to see if there is damage to your peripheral vision, even before you notice any blurring of vision or difficulty reading.

How long will the examination take?

AFV testing typically lasts 15 to 45 minutes per eye, depending on the program your doctor recommends and the speed of your responses.

How will the test be administered?

You will be positioned about 14 inches away from a screen, where small lights will light up randomly in different areas of your visual field. You will then be told to respond by pressing a button each time you see something light up on the screen.

How long will it be until I can get my result?

The result of your test is computer-generated and will be printed out immediately following your exam. You can then show this result to your ophthalmologist, who will interpret it for you.

[01.1] Zeiss OCT 6000 with Angioplex.png

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) of the Optic Nerve and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL).

Using Panay Eye Center’s Zeiss OCT 6000, your doctor will be able to determine the size and depth of your optic nerve cup, as well as the thickness of the nerve fiber layer surrounding it. This is important because in patients with glaucoma, the optic nerve cup enlarges and deepens. This is referred to as “cupping” of the optic nerve head. In addition, the nerve fiber layer thins out. Some people, however, are born with large optic nerve cups, and this is called “Physiologic Cupping”. An OCT exam will help your doctor differentiate between Physiologic Cupping and cupping secondary to glaucoma.

Glaucoma Progression Analysis (GPA)

This program, together with the Zeiss FORUM data management system, makes it easier and more convenient for your ophthalmologist to detect, monitor and track changes in your visual field over time, as it organizes files and plots the OCT readings against the corresponding perimetry results.

GLAUCOMA TREATMENT

[02] Zeiss Visulas YAG III - YAG Laser.p

Laser Peripheral Iridotomy (LPI)

Using the Zeiss Visulas YAG III laser, your Ophthalmologist can create an internal opening in the peripheral Iris of your eye, to help relieve elevated intraocular pressure from Angle-Closure Glaucoma. This is called "Laser Peripheral Iridotomy" or LPI. Prophylactic LPI’s may also be done for patients with narrow angles at high-risk for Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma

[07] Iridex IQ532 Laser Photocoagulator.

Pan-Retinal Photocoagulation (PRP)

In cases of proliferative diabetic retinopathy and “Neovascular Glaucoma”, your ophthalmologist may use the Iridex IQ532 laser unit, to apply laser burns to the peripheral retina, in an effort to “shrink” the abnormal vessels that are damaging the drainage system of your eye.

Micropulse Laser Trabeculoplasty (MLT)

A new option in glaucoma treatment is micropulse laser trabeculoplasty (MLT). MLT is a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of all stages of glaucoma. This makes use of the Iridex IQ532 laser, the same equipment that can be used for other procedures like panretinal photocoagulation, iridotomy, and laser suture lysis.

What is Micropulse?

Micropulse laser therapy is a tissue-sparing procedure for the treatment of glaucoma. With MLT, the traditional laser beam is divided into a train of short, repetitive, low energy pulses separated by rest periods. This strategy minimizes tissue damage by allowing the drainage system of the eye, the trabecular meshwork, to cool down between laser pulses.

MLT can improve the quality of life of glaucoma patients by possibly decreasing the number of maintenance eye drops that they need to use. Thus, it optimizes the patient’s financial resources and reduces the Ophthalmologist’s concerns regarding whether or not the patient can buy his medications and remember to instill them at the proper time everyday.

Trabecular meshwork after ALT

Continuous-wave laser exposures can cause high thermal rise resulting i tissue damage

*1. Fudemberg SJ, Myers JS, Katz LJ, et al: Trabecular Meshwork Tissue Examination with Scanning Electron Microscopy: A Comparison of MicroPulse Diode Laser (MLT), Selective Laser (SLT), and Argon Laser (ALT) Trabeculoplasty in Human Cadaver Tissue. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2008;49(5):1236-.

Trabecular meshwork after MLT

Meshwork remains intact without the signs of tissue damage while still as effective as ALT & SLT.*

PRE-OPERATIVE EXAMINATIONS

Cataract Package

This affordable pre-op package includes three examinations:

Specular Microscopy

The Topcon SP-1P Specular Microscope takes wide-angle panoramic photos of your cornea’s cells. The cornea is the clear front portion of your eye which, when healthy, should ensure that your vision will remain crisp and sharp post-surgery. The microscope measures corneal thickness, as well as the number and shape of its endothelial cells. By analyzing these measurements, your doctor will be able to assess how your cornea will fare when you undergo cataract surgery

Biometry

Biometry machines measure both the curve of the cornea and length of the eyeball, in order to determine the recommended “grade” or power of the intra-ocular lens. These machines, therefore, help your ophthalmologist select the best lens for you, based on your particular needs. Panay Eye Center currently employs two machines for this task: the Zeiss IOLmaster 500 and the Sonomed Escalon A/B scan ultrasound.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) of the Macula

The macula and the fovea at its center are the areas of the retina which are used for reading of fine print. Thus, it is important that your doctor be able to assess the macula’s health prior to cataract surgery. The OCT takes cross-sectional photographs of the macula to detect possible thinning, wrinkles or rough areas, abnormal membranes, and the like. In case there are any abnormal findings, such as those consistent with age-related macular degeneration, your ophthalmologist will make sure to give you an estimate of your visual prognosis prior to surgery.

CATARACT SURGERY

Phacoemulsification Surgery

This out-patient procedure employs simple “eye drop” anesthesia and allows for the removal of cataracts through the use of an ultrasound handpiece that emulsifies the cataract, breaking it up into tiny pieces that can then be suctioned out of the eye through a sutureless incision. Ophthalmologists at Panay Eye Center employ two top-of-the-line machines for this particular surgery:

Ophthalmic Surgical Microscope - The Zeiss Lumera 700 gives our doctors unparalleled clarity when it comes to visualizing the finer details of ophthalmic surgery.

Phacoemulsification Machine - The Bausch & Lomb Stellaris NextGen is a powerful tool capable of quickly emulsifying even the hardest of cataracts.

SCREENING OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) of Macula

The most common cause of blurry vision resulting from non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is “macular edema”. This refers to a condition in which damaged blood vessels in the macula start to leak fluid and produce swelling in the macula, which is the central part of the retina responsible for reading vision and color vision. Doctors can easily monitor this condition, however, by using a machine called Optical Coherence Tomography (O.C.T.) to take cross-sectional pictures of the retina. If present, macular edema may be treated with injections of a special medication called “anti-vascular-endothelial growth factor” or anti-VEGF and possible laser photocoagulation.

TREATMENT OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

1. Focal Laser

Using the Iridex IQ532 laser, your eye doctor can treat specific areas in the retina that have swelling or abnormal vessels. The laser is mounted on a slit-lamp, so you will be seated in a similar manner to how your doctor examines you in his clinic. He will then place a special kind of contact lens on your eye to help steady the eye and focus the laser beam onto the retina.

2. Panretinal Photocoagulation

In cases in which wide areas of the retina are involved, or if there are areas of ischemia or neovascularization (growth of abnormal vessels), then your doctor may need to apply laser burns to most of the peripheral retina. This treatment will help shrink the abnormal blood vessels and help prevent bleeding into the vitreous of the eye. It also uses the Iridex laser and is performed in a similar manner to the Focal Laser procedure.

3. Anti-VEGF Injections

For patients with significant macular edema or neovascularization, injection of this special medication will dry up the edema or make the abnormal blood vessels shrivel up temporarily. This will allow your doctor to apply laser burns more effectively for a more lasting effect. Anti-VEGF injections are performed inside the operating room on an outpatient basis, and your doctor may or may not use our Zeiss Lumera 700 surgical microscope.

4. Pars-Plana Vitrectomy with Endolaser

For patients who present with the advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy, in which there is Retinal detachment or abnormal bleeding inside the eye (Vitreous hemorrhage), among others, you will be referred to a Retina surgeon who will perform Pars-Plana Vitrectomy surgery using the Zeiss Lumera 700 surgical microscope with Re-Sight and the Bausch & Lomb Stellaris NextGen Phaco-Vitrectomy machine with integrated Endolaser. The goal of the vitrectomy surgery is to prevent severe visual loss by removing dense blood clots, releasing any traction membranes, and re-attaching any detached retina; the endolaser is applied towards the end of the vitrectomy, to promote stronger attachment of the retina and to further shrink any abnormal blood vessels.

Consistent with its commitment to provide cutting-edge service to its patients, Panay Eye Center was the first in the Philippines to acquire Bausch & Lomb Stellaris NextGen Phaco-Vitrectomy, which integrates both the vitrectomy machine and the Endolaser in a single unit.

Glaucoma Screening

PANAY EYE CENTER