(L-R) Edwin Amirata,
MD, President of the Clara Maass Medical Center medical staff,
Paul Lama, MD, and Thomas A. Biga, Executive Director, Clara
Maass Medical Center Belleville, NJ –According
to Prevent Blindness America, it is estimated that over 4 million
Americans have glaucoma—one of the leading causes of blindness.
For the first time in New Jersey, patients with glaucoma have
a new surgical therapy option known as Trabectome. The minimally
invasive procedure is now available at Clara Maass Medical
Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System
located in Belleville, NJ.
 |
| Paul Lama, M.D., after performing
NJ’s first Trabectome
surgery on April 30, 2009 |
"The purpose of trabectome surgery is to lower eye pressure by removing
the obstruction of the flow of internal eye fluid thereby restoring the eye’s
natural drainage pathway.” said Clara Maass Medical Center
glaucoma specialist and surgeon Paul J. Lama, M.D. Dr. Lama is
the medical director of the Glaucoma Institute of Northern New
Jersey in Hackensack, New Jersey and is the only certified Trabectome
surgeon in the state of New Jersey.
Glaucoma is a common blinding eye condition in which the pressure
inside the eyes rises because of impaired fluid drainage from
inside the eye. If untreated, it may damage the optic nerve,
causing the loss of peripheral vision and even total blindness.
Vision loss caused by glaucoma cannot be restored. Treatments,
such as Trabectome aim to reduce eye pressure to prevent further
damage to the optic nerve.
Trabectome is an FDA-cleared device for minimally invasive surgical
treatment of glaucoma. The Trabectome procedure uses a small
probe that opens the eye's drainage system once inserted through
a tiny incision in the eye's cornea. It removes a small
portion of a specific tissue in the eye, so the drainage functions
better.
Trabectome surgery will be considered when medications or trabeculoplasty
(a laser procedure) fail to reduce or control pressure to an
adequate level. The surgery is an outpatient procedure, requires
very little sedation and patients generally recover within a
week.
“Trabectome surgery is a much safer and simpler than other available
glaucoma surgical therapies and adds to the existing surgical armamentarium
for the treatment of glaucoma,” said Dr. Lama. “It can lower pressure
and reduce a patient’s reliance on glaucoma medications without subjecting
the eye to the risks associated with conventional glaucoma surgery.” However,
not all patients with glaucoma are good candidates for this procedure.
A comprehensive evaluation and staging of the glaucoma disease
process will determine who is a good candidate for Trabectome
surgery.
For more information about Trabectome, please call
1-888-724-7123
(1-888-724-7123).
Clara Maass Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, provides a complete continuum of care to residents of northern New Jersey. Clara Maass Centers of medical excellence include the Women’s Health Center, Nuclear Medicine, the Cancer Center at Clara Maass, Diagnostic Cardiac Services including Cardiac Catheterization, Emergency Angioplasty and Rehabilitation, The Pain Management Center, The Joint and Spine Institute, a Vascular Center, Same Day Surgery, The Clara Maass Wound Center, The Center for Sleep Disorders, Rehabilitation Services, Maternity Services and Parent Education, as well as Pediatrics. For a physician referral or more information about Clara Maass, call 1-888-724-7123 or visit www.barnabashealth.org.
Date: April 22, 2009
CONTACT:
Cathy Toscano
July 10, 2008
(973) 450-2996
ctoscano@barnabashealth.org
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