Holmdel Doctor Offers Specialty in
Glaucoma
By Vince Echavaria
Staff Writer - Independent, Feb., 2004
HOLMDEL — Area glaucoma patients don’t have
to travel far for treatment, thanks to ophthalmologist Dr. Surekha
Collur’s practice right here in town.
Collur is a board-certified ophthalmologist with a specialty in
glaucoma, a disease of the eyes that is one of the major causes
of blindness in the United States. She co-owns her North Beers Street
practice, located next to Bayshore Community Hospital, with her
husband, Dr. Uday Menon.
Collur is one of only about 1,500 female ophthalmologists in the
country and also one of the only ophthalmologists with a glaucoma
specialty in Monmouth County, Menon said.
Collur, 39, acquired the practice in July from Dr. Anthony Micale,
the other ophthalmologist in the office, who started the practice
in 1970. Micale started the practice in Matawan and brought it to
the North Beers Street office in 1982. The practice also has an
office in Tinton Falls.
Micale, who decided that after three decades it was time to sell
the practice, said the practice offers comprehensive eye care with
a specialty in glaucoma. "Dr. Collur is well received and extremely
well trained," Micale said. "She has brought the most
modern and latest dimension of ophthalmologic care to this practice,
and she’s wonderful to work with."
The practice was created to provide the most up-to-date ophthalmologic
care, Micale said, and with glaucoma affecting as much as 2 to 4
percent of the general public, it was important to find a doctor
for the area who specializes in the disease. Glaucoma is caused
when there is too much pressure in the eye that results in optic
nerve damage, which can cause vision loss, he said.
Collur is originally from Hyberabad in southern India; she received
her medical degree in 1987 in India. She then studied ophthalmology
in Delhi, India, where she completed her medical residency and received
her ophthalmology degree in 1991. She came to the United States
in 1995 for a fellowship in Brooklyn at the State University of
New York Downstate Medical Center. It was in New York that she met
her husband, with whom she has two sons, Karan, 4, and Arjun, 2.
They now live in the Morganville section of Marlboro.
Collur worked part time in an ophthalmology practice in Jersey
City in order to take care of her children, but she said now that
she has her own practice, it has worked out well for her. "You
have control over your life, and you can make your own decisions
to bring in a piece of equipment or staff member," she said.
"The goal is not to have stress and still work hard."
Menon said many people confuse ophthalmologists with optometrists,
eye doctors who prescribe glasses and contact lenses, but can’t
perform surgery. Although Collur said some optometrists can prescribe
glaucoma medications, patients may need more extensive treatment
by an ophthalmologist.
"The field has a medical aspect and a surgical aspect,"
Collur said. "Eye surgery is almost like an art form, and I
feel that every surgery is a performance."
When it is determined that glaucoma patients require surgery, they
are sent to either Somerset Eye Institute, Bayshore Community Hospital,
or Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, said Maxine Relkin, Collur’s
surgical coordinator. Relkin said approximately 10 patients a week
have surgery.
Medication and laser surgery are other treatments for glaucoma
patients, but Micale said surgery has the highest success rate.
The surgeon’s fees for the procedure are about $1,200, Collur
said, and includes three months of postsurgical care. Collur, who
also performs cataract surgery, said deferred payments are available.
"The benefits of the field are when the patients are able
to see," she said. Glaucoma is a silent disease often with
no symptoms, so the challenge is to educate patients to take care
of themselves and check their eyes, Collur said. People who are
most at risk for the disease are African-Americans, the elderly,
diabetics and those with a family history of glaucoma, she said.
The practice sees about 40 to 50 patients a day, six days a week.
Patients range from newborns to people over 100 years old. "She’s
a great doctor because she listens to what you have to say and lets
you choose what you want to do," said Gracie Sharp, a patient
who received laser treatment.
As an ophthalmologist, Collur has treated many patients, but she
said the ones who have stood out the most are the newborn babies
who had surgery for congenital glaucoma.
Ophthalmology is a fast-changing field with frequent technological
advances, Collur said. Micale also said the advances have been outstanding,
but because people are living longer, more people have the disease.
"I want to provide state-of-the-art medical and surgical care
to patients at a high quality," Collur said. "I want to
increase their awareness and do what I can."
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