Facilities available at Wavikar Eye Institute
Cataract surgery: While deciding to undergo cataract surgery, a patient has to make two choices, 1) which technology to use and 2) which lens to be implanted. In technology, four different types are available, but the two most prominently used are phacoemulsification and laser. There is a significant confusion among the patients that phacoemulsification and laser is the same. However, they are totally different and it is important for the patient to understand precisely which technology is being used for the surgery.
Phacoemulsification, comparatively an older technology, involves a needle vibrating at a high frequency which is used for powdering the cataract. Therefore cataract which is as big as 9mm in diameter can be sucked out through a very small 2.2 to 3mm incision. A smaller incision means no need of stitches, faster recovery and patient joining work quite early. Wavikar Eye Institute (WEI) has one of the best infinity phacoemulsification systems.
The laser on the contrary is a powerful light that can make precise cut into the eye without causing much damage. The most important benefit of laser is improvement in safety of cataract surgery. Laser also leads to an enhanced quality and precision. WEI has LENSX laser system, the first installation in Middle and West Asia.
The second choice a patient has to make during the cataract surgery is type of lens. This is a very important decision as there are more than 40 types of lenses available and vision after cataract surgery can be customized as per the needs of the patients by careful examination of the eyes and patient counseling. Traditionally, patients are aware of only foldable and non-foldable lens and Indian and imported lenses. At WEI, after in-detail examination of the eyes, patients are given many options like mono-focal, multi-focal, tri-focal, toric, EDOF, EROV lenses, etc. Correct choice of lenses certainly improves quality of life.
Total refractive solutions: It is a branch used to get freedom from glasses. The most commonly performed surgery in this category is LASIK. At WEI, patients are offered bladeless LASIK, CONTOURA, advanced mono vision, in addition to LASIK with blade. When a mechanical device is used, to create a flap it is known as LASIK with blade, whereas when a laser is used, it is known as bladeless LASIK. Bladeless LASIK is definitely safer and has better precision and quality compared to LASIK with blade.
CONTOURA LASIK has become very popular in last few years because of the excellent results achieved. It improves quality of vision by not only treating the power of glasses (refraction) but also by treating finer deviations and deflections of light as they pass through the front part of the eye.
If LASIK is not suitable, patients can undergo other surgeries like STREAM LIGHT, PRK, ICL (Implantable Contact Lens) at WEI.
WEI recently acquired MS-39, the latest equipment for corneal evaluation. This machine combines two technologies, tomography and anti retinal segment OCT thereby giving minute details with high level of accuracy which is unparallel to any machine uptil now.
- Retinal services: WEI has a full-fledged retina set up for outdoor as well as indoor patients which include OCT, OCT angiography, B-scan, FFA, suture less vitrectomy machine, etc. Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of loss of vision amongst Indian population. The institute concentrates not only on treatment but also on prevention with the help of these instruments and well-trained retinal surgeons. Recently, WEI acquired OCT angiography machine wherein angiography can be performed without injecting any dye thereby improving patient comfort and convenience tremendously.
- Pediatric ophthalmology: This branch deals with children’s eye diseases. WEI has this branch functioning for more than 10 years with highly skilled pediatric ophthalmologists and necessary gadgets. Children’s diseases like refractive error, hazy eye, squint, and many neonatal diseases are diagnosed and treated here.
WEI also has full-fledged glaucoma clinic, dry eye clinic, keratoconus clinic and oculoplasty services.