Meet Our Keratoconus Specialist in Burlington, New Jersey
Dr. Luong received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Science from Arcadia University and earned her Optometry degree from Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University in 2018. She achieved clinical honors during her externship rotations at this very practice in Burlington, NJ; Scranton, PA; Wilkes Barre, PA; and Miami, FL which all focused on primary care and ocular diseases. Dr. Luong is a member of both American Optometric Association and Pennsylvania Optometric Association. She is licensed to practice in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Dr. Max Sarver is an associate at Dr.’s Eyecare Center. After completing his undergraduate study in Biology at the University of South Florida on an ROTC Scholarship in 2012, Dr. Sarver received his Optometry degree from The Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry (IAUPR) in 2017. He completed externships in private practice in Daytona, FL and Denton, TX during his Inter American University studies. He also serves as a Military Officer in the U.S. Army Reserves since 2013. Dr. Sarver is a member of both the American Optometric Association and the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians. He is licensed to practice in New Jersey. Dr. Sarver enjoys intramural softball, running, biking, and video gaming with his time off and is a die-hard Tampa Bay Rays and USF Bulls fan.
Dr. LaTorre received her Doctor of Optometry degree and BS in Vision Sciences from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Shippensburg University with a degree in Biology and was a member of the Biological honors society Beta Beta Beta. Dr. LaTorre received clinical honors throughout all of her clinical rotations which focused on ocular diseases such as anterior segment disease, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration.
Dr. Julie Greenberg is an associate at Dr.'s Eyecare Center. After completing her undergraduate study in Nutrition and Biology at the University of Delaware in 2002, Dr. Greenberg received her Optometry degree from The Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 2006. She completed an externship at the San Diego Naval Medical Center during her studies at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Dr. Greenberg is a member of both the American Optometric Association and the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians. She has been licensed to practice in New Jersey since 2006.
Dr. Shetzline is an associate of Dr.'s Eyecare Center specializing in Geriatrics and Low Vision Rehabilitation. Dr. Shetzline completed his undergraduate study in Biology at Messiah College prior to receiving his Optometry degree from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1998. Dr. Shetzline also completed an externship with the The Philadelphia Veteran's Medical Center during his studies at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. In addition to his membership to the American Optometric Association, Dr. Shetzline has also been appointed as staff to various organizations including, the Burlington Woods Convalescent Center, the Granville Assisted Living Center, the Brendenwood Retirement Village, the Alterra Sterling House Assisted Living, the Alterra Clare Bridge Assisted Living, and Sunrise At Floral Vale Assisted Living.
Dr. Levy is the Chief Medical Director of Drs. Eyecare Center. After completing his undergraduate study in Biology at Temple University in 1989, Dr. Levy studied at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry where he received his Optometry degree in 1993. During his studies at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Dr. Levy completed an externship at the Delaware Veteran's Medical Center. In addition to his position as the Chief Medical Director at Dr.'s Eyecare Center, Dr. Levy has also served as LASIK Consultant at Kremer/TLC Laser Centers in Cherry Hill, NJ. Dr. Levy has been licensed to practice optometry in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 1993. He is a member of the American Optometric Association, the New Jersey Optometric Association and the West Jersey Optometric Association where he was appointed as Secretary. He has also been appointed as a Clinical Preceptor by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (now Salus University).
Our Doctor Can Diagnosis and Treat Keratoconus
Your cornea is the transparent, outer lens of your eye, and it typically has a smooth dome shape. Keratoconus describes a condition in which the corneal structure isn’t strong enough to maintain a healthy ball shape.
Meet with our Keratoconus Specialist in Burlington, New Jersey to define your eye's condition and ways for treatment.
As a result, the cornea bulges outward into more of a cone. Our professional optometric team at our eye care clinic is knowledgeable about how to diagnose and treat keratoconus.
Keratoconus is rare, with an estimated one person out of every 2,000 having the condition. It generally appears in the teenage years and can progress slowly or rapidly.
Keratoconus also runs in families, so if you or your children are at risk, it’s advised to contact us for a thorough eye exam.
Causes of Keratoconus
Your cornea is held in place by very small collagen fibers. When they are weakened and too fragile, they aren’t able to preserve the round shape of your cornea.
A reduction in the protective antioxidants of your cornea, which act to destroy damaging by-products made naturally by corneal cells, is what causes keratoconus.
In addition to genetics, some types of eye injuries may increase your chance of being diagnosed with keratoconus.
Specific ocular diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, vernal keratoconjunctivitis and retinopathy of prematurity, as well as some systemic conditions (Down syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Leber's congenital amaurosis and osteogenesis imperfecta) are also associated with this corneal abnormality.
Our Keratoconus Specialist in Burlington, New Jersey has years of experience identifying the various levels of keratoconus and other corneal conditions.
Symptoms of Keratoconus
When the shape of your cornea begins to bulge, it alters your eyesight in two different ways. As the cone shape forms, your normally smooth corneal surface becomes wavy, called irregular astigmatism. Additionally, as your cornea expands, vision becomes increasingly nearsighted. Focusing becomes impossible without eyeglasses or contact lenses. Usually, the problems begin in one eye and develop later in the other eye too.
Typically, patient’s eyeglass prescription will change often as the vision becomes worse and contact lenses will be difficult to wear due to discomfort and improper fit.
When keratoconus become more severe (which usually takes a long time however on occasion can happen rather quickly), the cornea can begin to swell and form scar tissue. This scar tissue can result in even further visual distortion and blurred vision.
Altogether, these changes can create the following symptoms:
- Blurred vision
- Streaking of lights
- Halos around bright lights at night; glare
- Sudden change of vision in only one eye
- Objects appear distorted, both near and distant
- Double vision from just one eye
- Triple ghost images
How We Diagnose Keratoconus
Our eye doctors will inspect carefully for the signs of keratoconus during your comprehensive eye exam. It’s critical to inform us of any symptoms that you’ve been experiencing. To diagnose the condition, we’ll measure the shape of your cornea. Computerized Corneal Topography is used for this procedure, which takes a picture of your cornea and analyzes it instantly.