Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in Ethiopia and the rest of the world. It is often, but not always, associated with raised intraocular pressure. Glaucoma destroys the optic nerves in the eye which results in irreversible loss of vision. It is a chronic, insidious and most often painless disease. There are certain acute forms of glaucoma that are associated with severe pain. But these represent only the minority of glaucoma cases. There is a risk that family members may also have glaucoma. Because glaucoma is painless and symptomless, it is important that you have an annual checkup which includes measurement of your intraocular pressure.

At Biruh Vision Eye Clinic, we are fully equipped to diagnose and treat glaucoma. We have special automated and state-of-the-art equipment to measure intraocular pressure which are the Tonopen and Automated Non-contact Tonometer. Our automated visual field analyzer, one of very few in town, helps us to establish the extent of optic nerve damage which has resulted from glaucoma.

We are also fully equipped for the latest and up-to-date treatment of glaucoma including laser treatment, surgical treatment with anti-metabolites (Mitomicin), and glaucoma shunt devices

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Diagnosis and management of glaucoma

Glaucoma

Cornea is the transparent, dome-shaped tissue covering the front of the eye. It is important in transmitting light to the inside of the eye. Cornea is also a powerful refracting surface and provides about 2/3rd of the eye's focusing power. Diseases of the cornea due to injury or infection lead to loss of its transparency, thus reducing the vision. In Ethiopia, trachoma is an important cause of corneal opacity which results in loss of vision

At our clinic, you can get a complete examination of the cornea by our two cornea specialists.

Our corneal services include:
1. Treatment of corneal infections from viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
2. Diagnosis and treatment of dry eye disorder
3. Surgical repair of corneal tears from trauma and accidents.



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Diagnosis and management of corneal diseases

Corneal diseases

The retina is a very thin layer of tissue covering the inside wall of the eye. It functions like the film in a camera by capturing images and sending it to the brain for interpretation. It is the seeing tissue of the eye. At the center of the retina is found a small area called the macula. The macula is the most seeing part of the retina which is capable of creating sharp and clear images.

The retina and macula are affected by a variety of diseases which result in severe loss of vision. These include hereditary retinal diseases (e.g. Retinitis Pigmentosa), degenerative diseases (age-related macular degeneration), various infections (e.g. HIV, toxoplasmosis), retinal detachment and diabetic retinopathy

At Biruh Vision Eye Clinic, we are well equipped for the diagnosis and treatment of retinal and macular diseases.

Our diagnostic facilities include:
1. Fundus Photography – take pictures of the inside of the eye in order to document any abnormal findings in the retina like retinal bleeding.
2. Fluorescein Angiography – an examination which is very crucial in the evaluation of retinal diseases like diabetic retinopathy, diseases of retinal blood vessels, age-related macular degeneration and many others.
3. Ultrasound – examination of the posterior part of the eye when the view is occluded by opacities like cataract and bleeding inside the eye
4. Optical Coherence Tomography – the most advanced technology in the evaluation of the retina which shows the minutest changes from any disease – coming soon

Our treatment facilities for retinal and macular diseases include:

1. Laser treatment
2. Retinal detachment surgery
3. Vitrectomy surgery
4. Intravitreal injection of Avastin and Lucentis

Diagnosis and management of macular and retinal diseases

Macular and retinal diseases

Diabetes is a major cause of blindness. Diabetes damages the retinal blood vessels resulting in poor blood supply to the retina. This results in poor vision and may lead to growth of new, abnormal blood vessels in the retina. The latter then result in recurrent bleeding episodes and retinal detachment. Diabetes may also result in abnormal leakage of the blood constituents through the walls of the retina blood vessels resulting in retina swelling which causes decreased vision. These changes are collectively called as diabetic retinopathy. Besides diabetic retinopathy, diabetic patients are more prone to develop cataract and glaucoma.

Normal vision is not a guarantee that you do not have potentially blinding eye damage if you are a diabetic patient. By the time patients notice changes in their vision, the disease is so advanced it is almost always impossible to recover normal vision even after treatment.

The treatment of advanced diabetic retinopathy is very complex and extremely expensive with very little satisfying outcome. For good out come early diagnosis and treatment is crucial.

At our clinic you can have your eye examined by a retina specialist with many years of experience in the management of diabetic eye diseases.

Our diagnostic facilities include:
1. Fundus Photography – take pictures of the inside of the eye in order to document any abnormal findings in the retina like retinal bleeding.
2. Fluorescein Angiography – an examination which is very crucial in the evaluation of retinal diseases like diabetic retinopathy, diseases of retinal blood vessels, age-related macular degeneration and many others.
3. Ultrasound – examination of the posterior part of the eye when the view is occluded by opacities like cataract and bleeding inside the eye
4. Optical Coherence Tomography – the most advanced technology in the evaluation of the retina which shows the minutest changes from any disease

Our treatment facilities for diabetic eye disease include:
1. Laser treatment
2. Vitrectomy surgery for advanced diabetic eye disease with bleeding inside the eye and retinal detachment
3. Intravitreal injection of Avastin and Lucentis


Diagnosis and management of diabetic eye diseases

Diabetic eye diseases

Retinal diseases like retinal detachment and advanced diabetic retinopathy require surgical intervention. Most often, these surgeries are complex and require specially trained staff and special equipments. Our clinic prides itself in being the pioneer in Ethiopia to provide these surgical services. Up until recently, patients had to travel abroad for complex retinal surgeries with huge costs to themselves and loss of precious foreign currency to the country. Besides, very few afford to go abroad for treatment while the majority cannot afford the cost of treatment abroad and thus are condemned to unnecessary blindness. We provide this service to our patients at highly reduced cost and with good quality.

Our retinal surgery services include:
1. Fixing detached retinas with injection of gases or silicone oil when necessary
2. Clearing or washing out blood from the inside of the eye using a special machine called vitrectomy machine
3. Intraocular injection of Avastin and Lucentis for the treatment of various retinal and macular disorders



Retina and vitreous surgeries

Laser is a special type of strong light which is used to treat different types of eye conditions. There are different types of lasers which have different functions. Laser plays important role in the treatment of retinal diseases like diabetic retinal disease. It also plays a role in the treatment of glaucoma. The Argon or Diode lasers are used for these treatments. Another type of laser called the YAG laser is used to make openings in opacified tissue inside the eye after cataract surgery. LASIK is another type of laser surgery for refractive errors like myopia or short sightedness. After LASIK treatment, patients will not have to wear glasses in order to see better.

At Biruh Vision Eye Clinic we provide the following laser treatments:
1. Diode laser treatment for diabetic retinal diseases
2. Diode laser treatment for other retinal vessel diseases
3. Diode laser treatment for macular diseases
4. Diode laser treatment for glaucoma
5. Diode laser papillary thermotherapy for macular degeneration
6. YAG laser capsulotomy
7. YAG laser iridotomy for glaucoma



Laser treatment

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness all over the world. Cataract is a clouding of the normally transparent lens. The most common cause is age related cataract that comes with aging. Cataract can also develop in very young children and adults which often due to some genetic abnormalities. Eye injury is another common cause of cataract especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. It can also be caused by other systemic diseases like diabetes and eye diseases like inflammation inside the eye.

Currently, the only available treatment for cataract is surgery. There are two types of surgery:

1. Manual small incision cataract surgery - a small incision (6mm) is made on the eye and the cataract is removed and the lens is inserted through this incision. Most of the time no suture is required.
2. Phaco surgery - an even smaller incision of 2-3 mm is made and a special machine is introduced into the eye that breaks up the cataract using ultrasound and sucks it out. A special lens that is rolled up like a cigarette is introduced through the micro incision, which then opens up in the eye like a butterfly. The healing in this method is much faster.

Both type of surgeries are available at Biruh Vision Eye Clinic.

Cataract surgery

Children’s’ eyes are quite different from that of adults. Thus the examination of children’s’ eyes require special care and attention. Children can be born with eye diseases or develop the disease after birth that cause loss of vision. It is crucial that these problems are identified and treated before the child is still young. Otherwise the loss of vision will be irreversible. Common eye diseases in children include squint, refractive errors, allergic eye disease. 

At our clinic we provide comprehensive examination of children’s eyes including the diagnosis and treatment of common eye diseases including allergic eye disease, squint and refractive errors.

Strabismus and children eye problem

Refractive error is an error in the focusing of light by the eye and a frequent reason for reduced visual acuity. It is one of the most common causes of reduced vision. People with refractive errors have blurry vision at distance, near or both depending on the type of refractive error. Common refractive errors include myopia (shortsightedness), hyperopia (long-sightedness) and presbyopia (inability to focus at near after the age of 40 years). You should understand that all blurry vision is not due to refractive errors. On the other hand, blurry vision from other eye diseases cannot be corrected by changing glasses.

At Biruh Vision Eye Clinic, we can measure your refractive error. The examination is supported by auto-refractomter which automatically measures your refractive error. We also have a glass workshop where your eye glass will be made according to your prescription. Soon, we will start contact lens fitting service.

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