The UCSD Thyroid Eye Center was established in 1997 as the first of its kind in the US. Our center combines the unique talents of three specialists who provide comprehensive care to patients with this potentially blinding and disfiguring disorder. We provide the highest level of care to patients and offer the latest therapeutic advances in treatment, many of which were developed at the center.
Our four specialists are: David B. Granet, M.D., (Eye Alignment Disorders); Don O. Kikkawa, M.D. (Orbital and Eyelid Surgery); Bobby S. Korn, M.D., Ph.D. (Orbital and Eyelid Surgery); and Leah Levi, M.D. (Neuro-ophthalmology). Collectively, the team provides each patient individualized treatment, helping people with severe functional and cosmetic abnormalities that can result from this disease. All team members are full time faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology at the UCSD School of Medicine.
Early eye symptoms, which may include dryness, redness, itching, and swelling of the lids are usually mild. These mild symptoms can often be successfully treated with frequent applications of lubricating drops and eye covers at night.
In many cases, protrusion of the eye, produces disfigurement and eyelid retraction, and may progress to a point where the eyes don’t close completely. Once inflamed, the eye disease may remain active from several months to as long as three years. The average time is about one year. The condition generally subsides over a period of time and occasionally, improves completely. Once the condition has stabilized, corrective surgery can be considered.
If potentially blinding optic neuropathy develops, urgent treatment is necessary to save or restore vision. This could consist of steroid treatment, radiation or surgery.
Depending on how the thyroid eye disease has affected the patient’s eyes, surgical options include orbital decompression to place the eyes back into the socket, alleviation of the retracted eyelids, as well as removal of excessive fatty tissue and skin.
Some patients will also develop double vision (diplopia), which is the result of scarring and inflammation of the eye movement muscles. In these cases, medical treatment, prisms, and/or eye muscle surgery may be required to restore vision. In addition, the UCSD Thyroid Eye center is one of the few centers nationally that offers state-of-the-art botulinum toxin therapy for eye misalignment.
Because thyroid eye disease can affect all aspects of the eye, it is important to have input from each member of the team. This is what makes this center unique.