English language

On this page, you will find general information about the Oogziekenhuis [Eye Hospital] Zonnestraal and about the most common procedures. The information has been subdivided into the follow chapters:

1. What is the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal
2. Hospital bacteria MRSA
3. Compensation
4. Making an appointment at the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal
5. Referral from the family doctor and optician’s eye test
6. First visit to the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal
7. The consultation
8. Information about cataracts and cataract surgery
9. Information about Diabetic Retinopathy (diabetes in the eye)
10. Information about Macular Degeneration 
11. Information about Glaucoma
12. Final remarks

1. What is the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal

Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal is a specialised eye hospital with various locations in The  Netherlands. The eye hospital offers treatment for nearly all ophthalmological conditions,  including Cataracts, Diabetic Retinopathy and Macular  Degeneration.

2. Hospital bacteria MRSA

If you are scheduled for surgery, it is important that you let us know if one of the following situations applies to you:

• Within the past 8 weeks, you were hospitalised in a foreign hospital for longer than 24 hours or you were treated with an IV-drip in a foreign hospital.
• You live, or are temporarily staying, in a care facility or nursing home where the hospital bacteria MRSA has been found.

3. Compensation

Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal supplies insured and non-insured care. Most treatments fall  under standard healthcare insurance and are covered by your healthcare provider. Special  lens implants, refractive laser surgery and eyelid corrections fall under the non-insured care.

4. Making an appointment at the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal

To make an appointment, the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal is open from Mondays through  Fridays  between 8.00 am and 6.00 pm and can be reached by phone via the nationwide  telephone number 08 88 77 77 77.

When making a phone appointment, you will be asked for the following data:

• Your name, date of birth, address and phone number
• Your insurance provider
• Your eye problem

5. Referral from the family doctor and optician’s eye test

Before the telephone operator can plan an appointment for you, you will be asked to go to  your family doctor for a referral. You will also be asked to go to the optician for an eye  test.  Thus, the ophthalmologist then has more time during the consultation for the examination  and discussion of your eye problem. You can go to any optician to have an eye  test.

6. First visit to the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal

Your first appointment at the Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal will consist of a consultation with  the ophthalmologist. In order to be of help to you, you should bring the following  information with you:

• Referral from your family doctor
• Eye test results from the optician
• Your passport or other identification and your insurance card.
• If necessary, your file with ophthalmological data from a previous hospital

7. The consultation

Preceding the consultation with the ophthalmologist, you may be given dilation drops in your eyes. These drops contain a pupil-dilating fluid. This makes it easier for the ophthalmologist to examine your eyes. The side effect of the drops is that your vision becomes blurred. It is, therefore, not a good idea to drive home yourself. Therefore, be sure to bring someone with you. It is also a good idea to bring sunglasses with your so that the bright light outside does not bother you so much.
 After you have been given the drops in your eyes, you will wait in the waiting room and the  ophthalmologist will call you.

8. Cataracts and cataract surgery

What are cataracts?

 A cataract is the clouding of the lens in the eye. Cataracts occur because the clear and  transparent lens becomes less clear. This lens is in the front of the eye, right behind the  pupil. The consequence of the cataracts is that things become blurry and greyish in colour.  As soon as the cataract  becomes a problem, a cataract operation can offer a solution.

Before the treatment

Before the surgery, a lens measurement (biometry) is done by the optometrist or TOA  (Technical Ophthalmology Assistant).
 Both eyes are measured to determine the strength of the lens to be implanted. This is  determining for the strength of the glasses that are necessary after the surgery. If you wear  contact lenses,  It is then important not to wear them on the day that you have the biometry.

The treatment

During the cataract operation, the cloudy lens is replaced by an implant lens. At the side of  the eye, a small opening is made. The old lens is then removed through this opening. The  new lens is then inserted. Generally, no sutures are necessary, the wound heals by itself.  Finally, your eye is covered with an ointment bandage and an eye patch. The entire procedure is done under topical anaesthesia eye drops and can take 60 to 90  minutes. This includes the eye drops beforehand and the instructions afterwards.

After the treatment

The operated eye will remain vulnerable for a week after the procedure and must be well  protected from rubbing or bumping. For that reason, for the first week after the surgery, you  will wear a protective shield at night. You must also put drops in your eyes. This will all  be  explained to you before and after the procedure.

9. Information about Diabetic Retinopathy (diabetes in the eye)

What does diabetes do in the eye?

 Diabetes can cause retinal disorders because the blood vessels change, without the sight  decreasing right away. This disorder can lead to blindness. Regular check-ups can  discover eye damage caused by diabetes in time.

Test for diabetes

Deviations can occur that do not give any symptoms but that do need to be treated. The  treatment is done to stop further damage. The test for diabetes now consists of taking x- rays of the retina. The ophthalmologist  first dilates the pupil with eye drops. It is sometimes  necessary to take contrast pictures. A contrast fluid is then injected into the arm. In this  way, the ophthalmologist can determine the degree and severity of the defect.

Treatment of diabetes

If defects in the eye have been diagnosed, a laser treatment can then slow down or stop  further deterioration of the sight. The laser makes it possible to close off leaking blood  vessels. When, however, new blood vessels are formed, nearly the entire retina must then be  treated with laser rays. For the  laser treatment, drops to dilate the pupil are put in the eye  and this also anesthetizes it.

Sometimes, the diabetes causes a haemorrhage in the vitreous space. A treatment by  freezing can help to have the blood vessels removed. If the bleeding does not stop sufficiently, vitrectomy can be done. This is a procedure in which the vitreous fluid is removed.

10.  Macular Degeneration (MD)

What is Macular Degeneration?

 MD affects the yellow spots which cause visual acuity to decrease. It is a name for  various eye conditions that all cause damage to the same place in the eye: the  yellow spot.

There are various types of MD:

• Juvenile macular degeneration: occurs at a young age.
• Senile or age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD): cause permanent decline in the eyesight. Occurs in people over the age of 55.

With dry AMD, the fine structure of the yellow spot is lost. This form cannot be treated.
With wet AMD, there is a leakage from the blood vessels, hemorrhaging in the retina and new blood vessels.

Diagnosis of MD

In order to diagnose MD, the ophthalmologist generally does and ophthalmoscopy.  Additional examination can consist of administering a contrast fluid, after which the  ophthalmologist will take pictures of the retina to discover if there is any damage. The OCT  can is a way to  map out the fluid retention in the retina. The nature and degree of MD can,  in this way, be well determined.

One sign of MD is image distortion. You can no longer see someone’s face clearly and  reading becomes difficult. Large objects can still be seen, but the center of your sight is  affected.

Treatment of wet MD

The treatment of the wet form of ADM is focused on making dry MD from the wet form of  MD. The deterioration of the eyes can, in this way, be pushed back, but it cannot be completely halted. During the treatment, the medication Avastin or Lucentis is injected into  the eye, this drug blocks the substance that plays a role in the formation of new blood  vessels when there is scar tissue.

11.  Glaucoma

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a commonly occurring chronic eye disease that, in most cases, is coupled with  high intraocular pressure. In the early stages, glaucoma causes  no symptoms. Early diagnosis  is important because, if untreated, glaucoma can lead to irreparable damage to the optic  nerve and to blindness.

Causes and risk factors
It is not known what causes glaucoma. However, hereditary factors do play a role. In  principle,  anyone can get glaucoma. The most important factors that increase the chance of glaucoma are:

• an increased intraocular pressure
• the presence of glaucoma in the family
• age: the chance of getting glaucoma increases with age
• severe near-sightedness (a strong minus-correction)
• severe far-sightedness (a strong plus-correction)
• the use of certain drugs or eye drops
• an undergone eye accident
• member of negroid race                                             

Screening

Glaucoma can be discovered in an early stage though check-ups by a specialist.
You can expect the following tests:

• Examination of range of vision. During this examination, the optometrist tests the range of vision by means of vibrating blocks or showing a pin-prick of light. You indicate by pressing a button that you see the vibrating block or pin-prick of light. This test measures the degree of functional damage to the nerve fibre layer.
• Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT). With the aid of harmless infrared light, the various layers of the retina can be made visible. For this examination, you will be given pupil-dilating drops. It takes about 10 minutes for these drops to take effect, after which the scan can be done. The drops wear off again after a few hours. The objective of this test is to determine the thickness of the nerve fibre layer of the retina. Doing a scan with the OCT takes around 5 minutes and is painless.

Because of the pupil-dilating eye drops, it is unwise to drive yourself home. We advise you to bring along sunglasses to combat the excess sunlight.

Treatment
First, the ophthalmologist will try to lower the intraocular pressure with eye drops or tablets.  If this does not provide the desired result, a treatment with the SLT laser can be an  alternative. During the laser treatment, the drainage of the internal ocular fluid is improved  with a laser ray, so that the ocular pressure decreases.

12. Finally

For a successful treatment, it is essential that you follow the instructions and comply with the check-up appointments. If there is something that you do not understand, do not hesitate to call us for further explanation. It is also advisable to bring someone along who speaks Dutch.

Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal can be reached 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for after-care at telephone 08 88 77 77 77.

Oogziekenhuis Zonnestraal has privacy and complaints regulations.