Thyroid Eye Disease

Los Angeles - Do you have redness, discomfort or pressure of the eyes? These subtle signs can be symptoms of "Thyroid Eye Disease," ("TED"). Six out of seven "TED" sufferers are women, but when men get it, it's often more severe.

Doctor Don Kikkawa specializes in "TED." He says it occurs from an immune system attack that targets the thyroid gland and most who suffer from this also have Graves' disease, a hyperactivity of the thyroid.

Dr. Don Kikkawa:

"The eye is housed in a box called the orbit, it's a bony box and the tissues have no place to go but to bulge out.... the tissues get so swollen the eye can actually dislodge."

Dr. Kikkawa says one percent of the population suffers from thyroid disease and about ten percent of those get "TED." He recommends if you see any changes in the appearance of your eyes or if you feel a bulge or swelling in your eyes... to get checked by an ophthalmologist immediately.

More information:

To learn more about Thyroid Eye Disease and the work of Dr. Don Kikkawa, Dr. Leah Levy and Dr. David Granet of the Shiley Eye Center, go to www.shileyeyecenter.com/ or call (858) 534-6290.

For more on Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism, go to www.ngdf.org .

Here is additional info from the Shiley Eye Center clinic for Thyroid Eye Disease:

The UCSD Shiley Eye Center recently established a special clinic to treat Southern Californians with thyroid-related eye disease. This clinic uniquely offers coordinated, multidisciplinary care by sub-specialists 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.

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 eye drops and eye covers at night.

In many cases, protrusion of the eye, producing disfigurement and eyelid retraction may occur and progress to a point where the eyes do not close completely. Once inflamed, the eye disease may remain active from several months to as long as three years. However, the condition generally subsides over a period of time and, occasionally, improves completely.

Approximately six months after the condition has stabilized, corrective surgery can be considered. Depending on how thyroid eye disease has affected the patient's eyes, surgery options include orbital decompression to place the eye back in its socket, alleviation of retracted eyelids, loosening of the eyelid muscles, as well as removal of scar tissue, excessive fatty tissue and skin.

A small number of patients will develop double vision (diplopia), which is the result of scarring and inflammation of the eye movement muscles. In these cases, medical treatment, radiotherapy, and/or muscle surgery may be required to restore vision. In addition, Shiley Eye Center is one of the few centers nationally that offers state-of-the-art Botox Therapy for these eye alignment disorders.

The expertise of Shiley specialists provides the best coordinated care for patients suffering from thyroid-eye disease.

To make an appointment with the Thyroid Eye Clinic call (858) 534-6290.