Marvin L. Baza, Jr., O.D.Dr. Baza is a graduate of University of Houston and has been in practice over 25 years. He is a member of The American Optometric Association, Texas Optometric Association and is a Rotary Club of Pasadena member.
Dr. Baza helps many people in the community that need optometric services and can't afford it.
Contact Lenses Pasadena Eye Center specializes in difficult or hard to fit contact lens patients. The following types of contacts are available at Pasadena Eye Center:
Daily Wear Disposable Contacts Extended Wear Disposable Contacts Tinted Disposable Contacts Colored Disposable Contacts For Brown Eyes Toric ( lenses for astigmatism ) Contacts Planned Replacement Contacts Rigid Gas Permeable Contacts Tinted Conventional Soft Contacts UV ( Ultra Violent ) Blocking Contacts Aphakic Contacts Bifocal Contacts
Can I wear contact lenses? This is a question asked by many patients who wear glasses. In general almost any one can wear some type of contact lenses. However, what is important is not if you can wear contacts, but are you a good candidate for wearing contacts. Many factors affect a patient's ability to wear contact lenses safely. Some of the conditions that Dr. Baza will check are your eye health, your tears, your eye shape, your blink, your eyelid structure, and your refractive error. Other conditions include your general health, medicine you are taking, your motivation to wear contact lenses, your work environment, your past history with contact lenses, and your ability to properly care for your contacts.
When you go to Pasadena Eye Center for contact lenses, two exams will be completed. The first exam is the eye health exam that is done for glasses. Following this exam, additional tests will be done for your contact lenses. If you are a proper candidate for wearing contact lenses, Pasadena Eye Center will proceed with the diagnostic exam followed by your follow-up visit(s). The number of follow-up visits a patient needs is variable and depends upon their eyes, the type of lenses you wear, past history of eye problems, wearing modality, and other conditions.
The Food and Drug Administration classify contact lenses as medical devices. You must have a valid doctor's prescription written specifically for contact lenses in order to buy them. Contact lens prescriptions are generally valid for one year from the date of your examination. However, for certain eye conditions or wearing modalities, the contact lens expiration may be less than one year.
Refractive Surgery There are many refractive surgical procedures that can be done to change the eye's refractive state. Several of the more common and efficacious procedures are shown below.
RK - (Radial Keratotomy): Radial Keratotomy is a surgical procedure where several radial cuts are made in the cornea. These cuts allow the cornea shape to flatten, thereby reducing the degree of myopia or nearsightedness. RK can also correct astigmatism, but is most often used to correct low to moderate amounts of myopia. RK is not used to correct hyperopia or farsightedness. The cornea is cut with a diamond blade instrument after the eye is anesthetized with a local anesthetic.
PRK - (Photo-Refractive Keratectomy): With Photo-Refractive Keratectomy, the eye is reshaped using an Excimer laser beam. This surgery is done using a local anesthetic eye drop. The thin skin or epithelium, which covers the front of the cornea, is removed; the laser then removes the right amount of tissue in less than a minute. PRK is approved in the United States to treat low to moderate amounts of myopia.
LASIK - (Laser in-Situ Keratomileusis): Laser in-Situ Keratomileusis uses the best of two refractive surgery procedures: PRK and LK or Lamellar Keratoplasty. LK has been performed for almost fifty (50) years to correct higher amounts of myopia and moderate amounts of hyperopia. With the improvement of the microkeratome, an instrument that cuts a thin layer of corneal tissue, LK became more widespread and popular. Instead of making multiple passes over the cornea as in LK, LASIK makes a single cut or pass to generate a flap of corneal tissue. Then, the excimer laser is used to reshape the cornea to the proper curvature. The thin flap of corneal tissue is then placed back into its proper position and allowed to adhere to the cornea. LASIK is suitable for correcting low to very high levels of refractive errors. Functional vision recovery is much quicker with LASIK, and postoperative pain is minimal. Patients are able to return to work in one day. However, LASIK results are more dependent upon the skills and experience of the surgeon than PRK.
Should you have an interest in changing your eyes' refractive error, Dr. Baza will be happy to evaluate you, and discuss in detail which procedure is best suited for your needs. Dr. Baza co-manages refractive surgery patients with the Refractive Surgeon.
|
