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Show , , y i,h 'k"-i- r a December e j, ., ! i , - ; . nMHW'" " iij-r-j ""j-" A patient suffering from diabetic rectinopathy undergoes treatment to destroy abnormal blood vessels which may cause blindness. Laser treatment used here does not cure, but increases! vision for years ,n Photo courtesy of NPkn , , 77ie jfeM fantastic Laser zaps eye maladies Presently only three doctors in the area are qualified to operate the laser, but since the laser is still experimental, the demand is not great. The laser is the only one of its kind between Denver and the West Coast. The laser is aimed with a control stick, much like the stick in an airplane. The doctor carefully sights the damaged vessel through a microscope, then fires the thin laser beam to burn the vessel. If the wrong vessel is hit, it could destroy the central vision in that eye. As the damaged vessel is destroyed, some patients feel and hear a snap, but the only side affects of the treatment are slight hemorrhaging dizziness. Ate minutes and almost 300 sh the laser, most patients i valesce at home and return work in about a week. Dr. Riekhof is especially pies with the laser, since it is the rr effective method of te damaged blood vessels in thee But with rapid improvements technology, the laser ,jy obsolete in a few ye This raises an important que With limited funds avails: should expensive equipment! will be used for only a few yt be purchased? Without if money, the University Med Center may find itself unable keep up with mei breakthroughs. By REX NUTTING Chronicle Staff "I hope it isn't a waste of money," said Dr. F. Tempel Riekhof of a newly acquired Argon Laser Photocoagulator in the Division of Ophthamology at the University Medical Center. A gift of a local philanthropist, the $30,000 laser is used to destroy abnormal blood vessels which may cause blindness. Two of the leading causes of legal blindness, diabetic rectinopathy and macular degeneration, are treated by the laser. Diabetic rectinopathy is the growth of excess vessels within the retina and into the eye chamber. Approximately 6 percent of all diabetics develop this complication. Macular degeneration involves deterioration of vessels within the retina. Associated with hardening of the arteries, macular degeneration occurs mostly in old age. Neither disease can be cured, but treatment with the laser can increase useful vision for years. Similar lasers have been in use around the country for about one year and doctors are optimistic about its use in the treatment of diabetics. |
