Home: Specialty Centres: University of Ottawa Eye Institute: Services: External Disease and Cornea

External Disease and Cornea

Dr. W. Bruce Jackson
Dr. George Mintsioulis

External disease and cornea is a subspecialty that encompasses congenital, inflammatory, allergic, degenerative, and neoplastic conditions affecting the anterior aspect of the eye (including eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea, iris, and lens).

The external disease and cornea clinic is equipped with the latest diagnostic technology, including computerized endothelial cell analysis, corneal topographic mapping, Wavefront aberrometry, ultrasonic pachymetry and a wide range of photographic equipment including computer enhanced analysis.

It serves as a referral centre for patients with complex medical problems, as well as those requiring corneal surgery. Frequently referred patients are those with severe dry eye, lid and skin disorders such as rosacea and blepharitis, cornea ulcers and conjunctival and corneal tumors.

Corneal transplantation can restore vision to patients affected with corneal degenerations, dystrophies, trauma and following corneal infections, such as herpes, which may leave a dense scar.

Keratorefractive surgery is currently one of the most widely discussed and exciting topics in ophthalmology. The ability to correct myopia, hyperopia, with and without astigmatism, with the Excimer laser has caught the enthusiasm of the public. With the introduction of Wavefront-guided ablations and Iris Registration, better outcomes with greater safety have been achieved.

Current research is focused on treating Presbyopia with resulting distance and near vision for those over 45 years of age. More than 2,000,000 patients world-wide have already been treated using these procedures. The Eye Institute was the first, and remains the only, academic centre in Canada to acquire an Excimer laser, which is used for the correction of refractive errors, removal of corneal scars and opacities, and research related to wound healing and visual outcomes. More than 6,000 patients have been treated, at the Eye Institute and are now being followed.

Although cataract surgery with insertion of an intraocular lens is one of the most common and successful surgical procedures performed by ophthalmologists, subspecialists in cornea are frequently asked to handle more complex cases requiring cataract extraction, corneal transplantation, and reconstruction of the front of the eye.

Research in external disease and cornea focuses on the management and clinical outcome of refractive errors treated with the Excimer laser, as well as laboratory studies of basic wound healing following laser therapy. In addition, a number of clinical trials are in progress to evaluate the treatment of corneal infections and dry eyes with new antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs.