DEPARTMENTS - SPECIAL PROCEDURES 

Rocky Mountain Eye Center in Montana has up-to-date equipment to better evaluate your condition. Special procedures available include:

  Humphrey Visual Field (HVF)
Computerized central to peripheral visual field testing. Diagnostic testing for glaucoma, stroke, diabetes, brain tumor, ptosis, pseudotumor, optic neuritis and many other diseases. Usually takes 5 to 7 minutes per eye. Sit comfortably (one eye patched at a time) while you press a button each time you see a light appear.

  Fluorescein Angiography (FA)
Diagnostic procedure in which a rapid sequence of photographs are taken to document the blood circulation of the retina and oid. The dye is usually injected into a vein in the arm, forearm or hand. This procedure takes approximately 20 minutes.

  Corneal Topography
Topographical map of the front surface of the eye shows the doctor how much and where your astigmatism lies. Usually takes 5 minutes.

  A-scan
One dimensional ultrasound measurements of the eye used to determine the power of intraocular lens implants that replace the natural lens of the eye during cataract surgery. Procedure takes 20 to 40 minutes. The usual measurements are corneal, white to white, and axial length. These numbers are placed in one or more computer programs that calculate the power of the special intraocular lenses for each patient. 

  B-scan/ Diagnostic Ultrasound
A small probe is placed on the eye that is able to see through opaque media. Ultrasound uses sound waves that make a picture of the internal structure of the eye. The doctor can see the presence of retinal detachment, retinal holes, tears, foreign material, hemorrhages, and malignant melanomas.  Standardized A-scan helps determine the difference in tissue, i.e. malignant melanoma as opposed to metastatic tumors or a benign nevus. This procedure takes about 20 to 40 minutes. Patient is in a comfortable chair while this procedure is performed.

  Optical Coherent Tomography (OCT)
A very mild beam of laser scans through the layers of the retina, making a picture. This helps your physician see exactly what is going on in your eye. Macular swelling, macular holes, macular degeneration, macular puckers and glaucoma are just some of the conditions that enable the doctor to treat and follow the progress of treatment. This procedure takes about 10 minutes. The patient is seated comfortably with their chin and forehead resting while they look into a computer as it scans the retina.

  Optical Coherent Biometry (OCB)
The most up-to-date form of measuring eyes for cataract surgery. Instead of ultrasound, this computer uses a mild beam of laser to measure the axial length and corneal measurements. This has its own program for calculating the proper intraocular lens powers. This procedure takes 10 to 30 minutes. If the cataract is very dense, we are able to double check the measurements with ultrasound. The patient sits in a chair, chin and forehead placed comfortably while several scans are taken of each eye.