Technology has always played an important role in eye care. Today, almost every aspect of vision is connected to a product or procedure that wasn’t available even 10 short years ago. The cataract surgery you are scheduled for is a good example of how innovations can make a difference. Every aspect of it uses recently developed technology that will help your doctor improve your vision.
Today this includes managing your glaucoma.
Now, your doctor is able to add another step to your cataract surgery that allows your glaucoma to be treated in a completely new way. This is important because once diagnosed with glaucoma, you and most patients like you will spend the rest of your lives taking one, two or even three different medication drops. Unfortunately, you will need to use these drops every day, which will not only be inconvenient, but potentially very expensive. The iSent Trabecular Micro-Bypass Stent can help with this, and you can have it done at the same time you have cataract surgery. Even so, your eye drop medication use is at the discretion of your prescriber.
The world’s smallest medical implant delivers big results. You have mild-to-moderate glaucoma. At this stage of the disease, your vision may be unaffected. But without proper treatment the pressure in your eye could increase and your optic nerve could be damaged. This pressure is caused by the buildup of fluid within your eye. Too much fluid raises pressure, which can cause gradual loss of vision. And while glaucoma moves slowly, its damage is irreparable. Once you start to lose vision, you can never get it back again.
The world’s tiniest medical device- the iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass Stent- is 20,000 times smaller than the intraocular lens (IOL) your doctor will use to replace your cataracts. But the size of the iStent is only part of its story. By increasing your eye’s ability to drain fluid, this technology is designed to improve the aqueous outflow to safely lower your eye pressure.
IStent works like the stents used to prevent heart attacks and strokes. When blood vessels get clogged, a stent creates access to the vessel flow.
While it’s a highly innovative technology, how iStents works is elegantly simple:
If iStent sounds like something you’re interested in, talk to your doctor. He or she will be able to answer other questions you might have.
If he or she agrees that iStent is right for you, they can implant it during your cataract surgery procedure. Once implanted, iStent will begin working to safely and effectively manage your eye pressure. And because of iStent, you may experience a reduction in glaucoma medications; but this will be at the discretion of your prescriber.
Connecting Patients to the Promise of Micro Invasive Glaucoma Surgery
iStent is the first MIGS device that improves your eye’s natural fluid outflow to safely lower eye pressure by creating a permanent opening in the trabecular meshwork. Proven safe and effective, the iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass:
iStent is the smallest medical device ever approved by the FDA. It is placed in your eye during cataract surgery and is so small that you won’t be able to see or feel it after the procedure is over. iStent is designed to create a permanent opening in your trabecular meshwork, and works continuously to improve the outflow of fluid from your eyes to help control eye pressure.
For patients with combined cataract and open-angle glaucoma, iStent reduces introcular pressure (IOP) by improving aqueous humor outflow. Inserted through a 1.5-mm corneal incision, iStent is the only FDA-approved device for the treatment of mild to moderate open-angle glaucoma.
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