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JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Edward Parsch
Years ago, Edward Parsch took a break from the dreary cold and snow in his native Cleveland and traveled to Florida. His encounter with palm trees, warm temperatures and sunny skies left such an impression that he vowed to return someday and stay for good.
The opportunity to do that came when he was offered a job with a ceramics shop in Jacksonville Beach.
“I was working in Knoxville, where I got my undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee, when I was offered the job formulating glaze bodies and clay bodies for ceramics,” Edward expounds. “It was that chance to move to Florida that I was waiting for, and I grabbed it.”
A few years later, while he was installing some kilns at a school, the principal asked Edward if he wanted a job teaching. Edward wasn’t interested at the time, but a year later, the principal made him the same offer.
“This time around , I gave it a little more thought and said, I think that’s something I might enjoy doing,” Edward remembers. “I spent the next seven years teaching vocational education and employability skills to students with disabilities.
“I later went into administration at the same school after I earned my master’s degree in education from the University of North Florida. I ultimately worked in school administration for 22 years and retired at 67.”
For many of those years, Edward lived with eye floaters, which are stringy black spots in the field of vision. At first, the floaters caused minimal problems, but they eventually became severe enough to interfere with Edward’s everyday tasks.
“Then, when I was about 65 or 66, I was driving home from work when there was a bright blue flash in my left eye,” Edward recalls. “I went to my ophthalmologist, and she sent me to Florida Retina Institute, where I met Dr. Staman.”
Jonathan A. Staman, MD, is a board-certified, fellowship-trained retina specialist with an expertise in treating floaters.
Condensations of Cells
Floaters are formed from the condensation of cells within the vitreous humor, a gel-like substance that fills the inside of the eyes. As these cell particles clump together or cast shadows on the retina, they become visible as floaters in the field of vision.
“Some patients describe these floaters as looking like cobwebs or small bugs, and to many they look like they’re moving around in front of them,” Dr. Staman explains. “But in reality, they’re floating around inside the patients’ eyes.”
Edward was told that some of the vitreous gel had broken off from the back of his eye.
“I continued to see Dr. Staman for that issue, but a little while later the blue flash happened again,” Edward says. “This time, it left a debris field in my eye.”
“Suddenly, the floaters were so dense that I started having a hard time seeing the road while driving. It was almost like looking through gauze. The floaters became intolerable, so I told Dr. Staman about them.”
Dr. Staman notes that having a few floaters can be normal, especially as people age. But there are some warning signs to look out for that could signal the problem is more serious.
Concerning symptoms include a sudden, dramatic worsening in the severity of the floaters. Also, if the floaters are associated with persistent flashing lights or any loss of peripheral vision, people should have their eyes examined.
“During an exam, we are able to look inside the patient’s eye to ascertain the source of the floaters and determine if there’s any associated retinal damage, such as a retinal tear or retinal detachment,” Dr. Staman describes. “Retinal tears and retinal detachments typically require urgent care to avoid vision loss.”
The retina is the layer of light-sensitive nerve tissue in the back of the eye. It is responsible for turning the light entering the eye into nerve impulses that the brain interprets as visual images.
“Retinal tears are the precursor to a retinal detachment, so our goal is to catch and treat the tear early to prevent it from progressing to a detachment, which is a more serious condition,” Dr. Staman explains.
“Treatment for retinal tears involves using a laser or freezing probe to barricade the tear and keep it from spreading.
“An untreated tear is at high risk for spreading into a retinal detachment, which typically requires surgery to reattach the retina to the back wall of the eye.”
If a patient’s eye floaters have no associated retinal damage, retina specialists often recommend leaving them alone because the patient’s symptoms will often improve over time, Dr. Staman asserts.
“But there are occasions when the patients’ symptoms persist and impact their day-to-day vision,” the doctor notes. “In those cases, surgical removal of the floaters may be considered. That was the case with Mr. Parsch.”
Floaters can be removed via a quick outpatient procedure called a vitrectomy.
During a vitrectomy, microscopic incisions are made to enter the eye. The vitreous gel containing the floaters is then removed and replaced with a saline solution or air bubble.
“After surgery, the eye will eventually replace the saline solution or air bubble with its own clear, natural fluid called aqueous humor,” Dr. Staman educates. “That leaves patients with a nice, clear visual axis.
“Most patients with mildly symptomatic floaters will not need surgery. But for a highly symptomatic patient such as Mr. Parsch, vitrectomy can be a game-changer.”
JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Edward is seeing the road more clearly now that his eye floaters have been removed.
“Floater-Free” Vision
Two years after undergoing a vitrectomy on his left eye, Edward experienced the flashing blue light in his right eye. Dr. Staman performed a vitrectomy on that eye as well. Edward reports that both procedures went smoothly and were 100 percent successful.
“I checked in and met with the anesthesiologist, and that’s all I remember until the procedure was over,” Edward says. “From start to end, there was no pain of any kind with the procedure. It took about 14 days for my eye to completely refill with fluid. It was all good after that.
“Today, I’m floater-free and have crystal-clear vision. And I have no trouble driving. The procedures Dr. Staman performed changed my life significantly.”
-Edward
Edward has high praise for the retina specialist who removed the eye floaters.
“Dr. Staman is terrific, absolutely tremendous,” Edward raves. “He went over the whole procedure with me step-by-step.
“He explained everything to me, and thanks to him and his expertise, I’m seeing clearly again.”
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