The step-by-step guide to treatment (pt4)

What takes place in your treatment program preparation?

The procedure for this stage will depend upon your exact diagnosis:

• A growth in your iris
• Clips placed on the back of your eye
• Age Related Macular Degeneration

You have a growth in your iris (the coloured part of the eye).

If you have a growth in your iris, then the area we need to treat is usually visible. This simplifies the preparation of your treatment program. After your mask is made, we will take some photographs of your eye. These photographs are used to plan your treatment. We may turn the chair around and move you into the treatment position. This is to ensure that your eyelids remain out of the area that needs to be treated. Once this is done your simulation is completed. The whole process will take about 1/2 an hour.

You’ve had clips placed at the back of your eye...

Before your visit to Clatterbridge your ophthalmologist will have placed four very tiny marker clips on the back of your eye. These clips are quite harmless and are there to mark the boundary of your treatment area. It is these clips which enable us to build up a three-dimensional image of your eye and to plan the best treatment. The first thing we will do is to move the chair in to the same position as for treatment.
We will then ask you to look in the direction of a small red light, while we take a set of X-ray photos. If your vision is good enough in your treatment eye, we will then ask you to use that eye to look at the red light. While you are doing this, your healthy eye will be covered up. If we feel your vision is not good enough, we will use your healthy eye instead. Your healthy eye will not be exposed to any proton radiation. The light position will then be altered and another set of X-rays will be taken. This process is repeated four or five times and the information is then transferred to the planning computer, to enable us to build up a model of your eye.
We will then measure the position of your eyelids so that we can include them into the treatment plan. At this point we will usually have all the information we need. We will, however, ask you to take a seat in the waiting room for a short period while we enter the data into the computer and check that it is satisfactory for planning your treatment. Occasionally we may need extra information. In this case we will ask you to return to the treatment room so we can take another set of X-rays. The first simulation will then be complete.

What Is The Macula?

The macula is the area of central vision. It lies on the centre of the retina at the back of the eye, near the optic disk.

What Is The Treatment Program Preparation For ARMD Cases?

Unlike the other two treatments we can plan yours from information provided by your ophthalmologist. When you come to have the mask made, we will already have a plan for you. We will check that this plan is satisfactory by setting it up exactly as we would for treatment. The chair is turned and brought close to the brass nozzle, but you will not touch it. We ask you to look straight down the treatment tube while we note the position of the chair and make the adjustments needed for your plan. Having made these changes we will ask you to look at a small red light which is positioned so that you are looking across your nose. If you can not see it clearly, then you will be asked to just look in the direction. At this point we will check that this position corresponds to that in your plan. In some cases we may make small adjustments. After this your simulation will be complete and you will not need to have a final simulation. We will see you at your treatment week.

next step

Where can I get more information?

You can contact the Unit Manager, Andrzej, on [email protected] . Please remember that all referrals come through the Specialist Ophthalmologists.