Eye Treatments

Dr Junaid Zondi specializes in performing all surgeries and vision correction procedures designed to create a clear, natural vision for our patients. If treatment costs are a barrier to you, we offer excellent affordability options and financing programs. In this way, we hope to make it possible for all of our patients to improve their vision and see the world more clearly.

Dr Zondi treats all eye conditions, providing world-class care with a hometown touch. Below you will find additional information about some of the most prevalent conditions related to the eyes.

Cataract
Surgery Glaucoma
Treatment Medical Retina
Management Surgical Retina
Management

Importance of regular eye exams

Annual eye exams can detect serious health problems. During a comprehensive eye exam, Dr Junaid Zondi can observe and evaluate the health and condition of the blood vessels in your retina, which are a good predictor of the health of blood vessels throughout your body.

Cataract Surgery

When your ophthalmologist tells you that you have cataracts, he’s referring to the cloudiness on the lenses in your eyes. Cataracts can happen in one or both eyes and is closely related to aging.

The lens that develops a cloudy abnormality lies on the top of your eye. It’s the clear part that focuses light to your retina, which sits at the back of your eye. When light hits the retina, it sends signals to your brain and delivers the images you take for granted. If that signal is blurred because of the cloudy covering on the lens, your vision is blurred too.

Replacing the Lens

You may find new prescription glasses, sunglasses with anti-glare properties and magnifiers help you see better when the cloudiness first appears. Once they stop working, however, you should consider a surgical option.

Cataract surgery is a process that replaces the cloudy lens with a new, clearer artificial lens. The procedure is one of the most common in the country, easily performed by your ophthalmologist as an outpatient procedure in theatre. Cataract surgery is a highly successful procedure that can restore your sight. It has about a 90 percent chance of success.

Dr Zondi only suggest replacing your lens through surgery when your vision becomes so bad that you have difficulty driving, reading, watching television or performing other everyday activities. You may also consider surgery when the cataract doesn’t affect your vision, but does prevent us from examining your eyes for other conditions such as diabetic retinopathy or age-related macular degeneration.

Cataract Surgery Ophthalmologist New Castle Johannesburg Dr Junaid Zondi

Pre-Surgery

Cataract surgery is performed in only one eye at a time. If you have cataracts in both eyes, you need to make separate appointments for each eye and wait four to six weeks between procedures. Before each surgery, your ophthalmologist does a painless ultrasound test to measure the shape and size of your lens. This allows your ophthalmologist to order the correctly sized intraocular lens, or IOL, for you.

You’re advised to stop taking all medications for at least 24 hours before the surgery, including vitamins, supplements and over-the-counter pain relievers. You may be given antibiotic eye drops to reduce the risk of infection. You will need to arrange to have someone drive you home on the day of your surgery, as you will not be able to drive yourself.

Surgical Details

The entire surgery takes about an hour. Before beginning, you may be given a mild sedative to help you relax. Your eye then is dilated with eye drops and the area is numbed with a local anaesthetic.

Your ophthalmologist will use one of two methods to remove your cloudy lens:

By removing the lens in one piece after making an incision in your eye
By suctioning the lens out in pieces after breaking it up with an ultrasound probe

The artificial lens is then put into the now-empty lens capsule. A patch is placed over your eye as you rest for 15 to 20 minutes for observation to make sure there isn’t any sign of trouble, such as bleeding or a reaction to the anaesthesia.

After Surgery

Colours usually seem much brighter after cataract surgery because you’ve been looking through yellowish lenses for so long that you’ve been accustomed to cloudy images. Your eyes may feel itchy and uncomfortable for a couple days following surgery, but that’s normal. Avoid rubbing your eyes during this time.

You’ll need to make a follow-up appointment within a couple days, and then again in a couple weeks to ensure everything is healing properly. You may receive an injection of steroid medication if you experience inflammation and you may need to wear an eye patch if you’re still sensitive to light. You should expect to be completely recovered, with no adverse side effects, after eight weeks.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the term describing a group of eye diseases associated with damage to the optic nerve, which is the nerve that connects your eye to your brain and transmits signals back and forth. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness and often appears without warning, with no symptoms. When glaucoma appears, it’s often too late, and vision loss has already begun.

Management is a Step by step process usually starting with drops but treatment would include or progress to laser and/or surgery. Your ophthalmologist will discuss the best option for you.

The Trabeculectomy Procedure

Trabeculectomy is a surgical procedure that reduces the intraocular pressure (IOP) that exists inside of your eye if you have glaucoma. Trabeculectomy is performed by cutting a small hole in the sclera (the wall of your eye) and covering the opening with a thin flap that acts like a trap door. This allows the liquid (called the aqueous humour) to drain from your eye. It drains into a bleb or small reservoir just under the eye’s surface that’s obscured by your eyelid.

The trap door is stitched in such a way so that it prevents the fluid from draining too rapidly. By draining the fluids in your eye, the surgery is effective in reducing pressure on your optic nerve. The procedure also slows down or prevents further damage and loss of vision.

Laser Surgery for Glaucoma

Laser surgeries have become increasingly effective and popular in treating various types of eye problems and diseases, including glaucoma. There are several types of laser surgery to treat glaucoma, depending on your form of glaucoma and its severity.

Glaucoma Treatment Ophthalmologist New Castle Johannesburg Dr Junaid Zondi

Laser surgery works by focusing a beam of light that burns a small opening in your eye tissue. The strength of the beam can be varied to cut through thicker tissues. The most common types of glaucoma laser surgical procedures include:

Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty (ALT):

ALT treats primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). POAG is the most common form of glaucoma, present in one percent of all adults over the age of 50, according to The Glaucoma Foundation. It’s referred to as the “silent thief of sight” as it appears without warning. The ALT laser treatment opens the fluid channels of your eye, helping it drain better. This procedure typically is supported by other medication treatments. In most cases, only half the channels are treated; your other fluid channels can be treated in a separate session. This prevents over-correction and decreases the risk of eye pressure building up after the surgery.

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT):

SLT also treats POAG. SLT works by treating “selective” cells with low levels of energy (a weaker laser). It leaves untreated areas intact, and thus can be safely repeated if necessary. SLT is often an alternative for patients who have been treated unsuccessfully with eye pressure-lowering drops or an ALT laser treatment.

Laser Peripheral Iridotomy (LPI):

LPI treats narrow-angle glaucoma or angle-closure glaucoma. This type of glaucoma occurs when the angle between your cornea and iris is too small, which causes your iris to block fluid drainage naturally, increasing the pressure in your eye. LPI cuts (or burns) a small hole in your iris, allowing fluid to drain from the new hole.

Laser Cyclophotocoagulation (CP):

This is an alternative to filtering microsurgery typically used later in the treatment process. In this procedure, several different types of lasers are used to inhibit your eye’s ability to make fluid (which occurs in the ciliary), and thus lowers the pressure in your eye. The procedure is also used to prevent glaucoma and may require repeated treatments to control glaucoma permanently.

The LPI and ALT forms of glaucoma surgery produce a slight stinging sensation. A local anaesthetic is applied to the eye for SLT and CP laser surgery to numb the eye. Once numbed, you shouldn’t feel any discomfort or pain.

Benefits of Glaucoma Laser Surgery

Glaucoma laser surgeries work to lower intraocular pressure in your eyeball. There are many factors that determine the length of time your IOP remains lowered. These factors include the type of surgery, type of glaucoma, age, race and other factors. Some people may have to repeat surgical procedures to control their IOP.

The recovery time for glaucoma laser surgery is very brief. Typically, you can resume normal daily activities as early as the day after laser surgery. You may experience blurry vision and irritation right after the surgery, so you should arrange a ride home after the procedure.

Medical Retina Management

Medical Retina is a specialized area of ophthalmology that deals with the in-office management and treatment of retinal diseases. This includes age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, vitreous floaters, retinal vascular disorders, retinal tears, and some types of retinal detachments.

The retina is the tissue lining the inner surface of the back of the eye. The centre part of the retina, called the macula, is essential for one’s central vision (e.g. seeing people’s faces and rugby scores on TV). While disease of the retina can be serious and vision-threatening, recent advances in the field have expanded our ability to effectively treat these problems.'

Management is a Step by step process and Dr Zondi will discuss the best option for you.

Medical Retina Management Ophthalmologist In New Castle Johannesburg Dr Junaid Zondi

Surgical Retina Management

Retinal conditions can affect the retina (including the macula) and the vitreous, which is the clear, jelly-like fluid inside your eye.

What is a Vitrectomy of the Eye?

A vitrectomy is a procedure performed on the eye, in the posterior segment of the eye. This type of eye surgery helps address problems associated with the eye’s retina and vitreous. In the back of the eye, the retina is responsible for receiving and organizing visual information. The vitreous is the gel-like fluid that is in your eye.

If you undergo a vitrectomy, it may be for one of the following reasons:

To get rid of blood or other substances that prevent light from focusing correctly on the retina
To remove scar tissue that is wrinkling the retina and causing decreased visual acuity
To repair retinal tears
To help resolve retinal detachment (when the retina becomes separated from the eye wall)
To extract a foreign object caught inside the eye from an injury or trauma

During this procedure, your ophthalmologist will take out some or all of the vitreous from the middle of your eye. The surgeon will then replace it with either a saline solution or an oil or gas bubble.
While your eye heals, it substitutes this saline solution or bubble with aqueous humor (a natural fluid made by the eye).

Like any type of surgical procedure, a vitrectomy can carry some risks of complications. For this reason, it is important to speak with your eye care specialist about all possible options and determine if a vitrectomy is the most suitable solution for you.

WHEN IS A VITRECTOMY PROCEDURE NECESSARY?

An eye doctor may suggest a vitrectomy if you have been diagnosed with one of these eye health conditions, including:

Diabetic retinopathy, with bleeding or scar tissue affecting the retina or vitreous gel
Some cases of retinal detachment (when the retina pulls away from the eye wall)
Macular hole (a hole or tear in the macula, which forms part of the inside of the eye and is essential to central vision, color vision, and visual sharpness)
Macular pucker (wrinkles or creases in the macula)
Endophthalmitis (a type of severe eye infection)
Severe eye injury or trauma
Specific problems that arise during cataract surgery

These medical conditions can all result in loss of vision. If left untreated, some of these conditions can even lead to complete blindness. However, a vitrectomy can be a suitable option to restore lost vision in some cases.

Vitrectomy procedures are an effective surgery and severe complications are rare. According to the American Society of Retina Specialists, most surgeries have a 90 percent success rate.

In rare cases, however, complications can occur, especially in immune-compromised individuals and those with a history of eye conditions or surgery.

Possible side effects of vitrectomy procedures include:

inflammation or redness, swelling, and pain
bleeding inside the eye
infection
increased pressure (glaucoma) or reduced pressure in the eye
cataract formation or progression of existing cataracts
surgical injury, such as a wrong cut or tear, resulting in the need for further corrective surgery
swelling of the central part of the retina
change in vision, requiring the need for new eyeglasses
loss of night vision, blurriness, or depth perception
double vision
retinal detachment
dislocation or discoloration of the intraocular lens

What is the recovery process?

Vitrectomy procedures are often done alongside other eye surgeries, so individual recovery time and recommendations vary.

In general, activities like driving, reading, and exercise will need to be avoided for a few days after the procedure.

Some people will be required to lay face down for a period of time to help their eyes heal properly. Often, eye drops will be prescribed to help prevent infection and to reduce inflammation.

In general, the full recovery process for vitrectomy surgeries takes between 4 to 6 weeks.

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