At the Glaser Murphy Retina Treatment Center, we like success stories, particularly when they give hope to patients suffering from eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Of course, there is no cure for AMD. Often, AMD patients are told that their chances of seeing again are limited. But several treatments are making significant progress in the fight against AMD, making it an exciting time for us ophthalmologists.

With that in mind, here's a success story that gave hope to my office staff and many of my patients.

R Aileen Campbell McCausey grew up in Scotland. After working as a nurse during World War II, she moved to the United States in 1947.

In 1989, at the age of 71, Aileen was first introduced to AMD. She experienced some blurred, hazy vision. "It looked like telephone poles were falling over," she said, "and windows looked like matchsticks falling down."

In 1993, Aileen's AMD worsened. She began seeing a "red moon," or "visual explosion," which interfered with her central vision.

When we examined Aileen, we found the results devastating. The tiny vessels that lay under her retina were leaking blood quickly. She had little hope of doing the things she lived for: painting in an impressionist style and writing about her youth in Scotland.

But Aileen refused to let AMD have the upper hand. "I'm not ready to give up," she said. When we told Aileen about feeder vessel therapy, she agreed to undergo treatment.

Feeder vessel therapy incorporates a technique known as Phi-motion angiography. In it, we apply a high-speed scanning laser to acquire rapid sequence images that illustrate the blood vessels underlying the retina. Then, to seal the leaking vessels, we target microlaser applications to one or several individual feeder vessels as small as 50 microns.

We've treated nearly 300 patients with this method, and the results have been encouraging.

Aileen's vision problem was more severe than the majority of AMD sufferers, and she needed two types of treatment. The first treatment was a vitrectomy with internal gas tamponade. The second treatment was the feeder vessel therapy, in which we sealed the blood vessels and stopped the bleeding without destroying the macula.

Aileen's eyesight improved considerably. Before the treatment, her eyesight had been 20/200, and after the treatment it improved to 20/80.

"I'm doing well," Aileen says. "Life is good. I thank God every morning when I wake up."

Aileen is writing and painting again. She just finished her second book, The Wee Scot Travels, to be published next year, and is adapting her memoirs into a children's novel.

We've seen amazing results with feeder vessel therapy. After the procedure, the majority of our patients' vision stabilizes or improves. The key is early detection.

Not all AMD stories have happy endings. But with advances like feeder vessel therapy, we're sure to see more cases like Aileen's over the next few years.

And that, in itself, is a great success story.

Dr. Glaser can be reached at (410) 337-4500 or www.glasermurphyretina.com.

Want to tell your story? CALL John Osborn at (215) 643-8055, E-MAIL to
osbornjs@boucher1.com, FAX to 215-643-3902, or WRITE to 1300 Virginia Drive, Suite 400, Ft. Washington, Pa. 19034. Offer a few thoughts, and we'll take care of the rest.