What is the role of injections? It sounds so scary to take injections into the eye!! Lasers cannot clear pre-existing blood.Lasers can stabilise but not reverse the disease.There are no injections/ cuts etc and patients can resume work the next day. There are certainly important considerations that one must remember: It is best done before there is bleeding. What is the role of laser in treating diabetic retinopathy?Ĭurrently, the main role of the laser is to stop/prevent bleeding in patients with new blood vessels. There as an increasing role of injections in the modern era. Patients that need treatment are usually managed by lasers. The disease can be managed simply by control of diabetes and associated risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol etc. If patients come early, no treatment is required. FFA is a test to study the retinal blood supply or the lack of it and is helpful in predicting the chances of bleeding. It is used mainly in cases of macular Oedema. OCT is a non - invasive test to scan the retinal layers. 2 common investigations are OCT (optical coherence tomography) and FFA. However, investigations may be required in advanced cases. In a majority of cases, simple examination by your doctor is sufficient to diagnose diabetic retinopathy. What are the investigations the may be required? Bleeding into the eye caused by rupture of the new vessels - vitreous haemorrhage.Swelling of the central retina which is termed macular oedema.Vision loss occurs in late stages due to the following: In early stages of diabetic retinopathy, there is no problem in vision. In advanced stages, there is a formation of "new blood vessels- neovascularisation" What causes vision loss in diabetes? Multiple patches of blood and cholesterol appear. This results in bleeding and swelling of the retina. ![]() The effect of diabetes on the retina is called "diabetic retinopathy" What happens in Diabetic retinopathy?Īs described earlier, high blood sugar damages the blood vessels of the retina. The clot formation, in turn, leads to the poor blood supply and therefore poor oxygen flow to the organs. This results in disturbance of blood flow through these vessels and leads to clot formation. In this cells that line the blood vessels from the inside get damaged due to high sugar. Technically diabetes is a "microangiopathy" which simply means small blood vessel disease. The increased blood glucose has harmful effects on almost all organs of the body, including the retina, hence a retina check up is important How does diabetes affect the body? Why do I need a retina check up?ĭiabetes mellitus is a disease in which our body fails to utilize blood glucose resulting in increased blood glucose levels. If you ever experience any of the above symptoms, see your Ophthalmologist immediately or go to the nearest Emergency room right away to check your eye condition."The effect of diabetes on the retina is calledĭiabetic Retinopathy." I am a diabetic. As such you should seek an immediate consult with your Eye Surgeon in the event of visual symptoms or floaters and flashes, as early diagnosis and intervention is paramount to preservation of good vision in cases of retinal detachment. However, if the macula was previously detached, the final visual acuity will not be as good as prior to the detachment. If the macula was not detached prior to surgery, good vision is usually preserved. The final visual outcome may not be known till the gas resorbs or oil removed after several weeks to months. ![]() Sometimes, even under the best circumstances treatment may fail despite multiple attempts and vision may be eventually lost. Some cases may require 2 or more procedures. The overall success rate for retinal reattachment surgeries is about 90-95%. In some cases, especially complicated retinal detachments where surgical time is longer, it may be prudent to stay overnight in the hospital for observation. ![]() Retinal detachment repair surgery that is usually a day procedure that can be performed under local or general anaesthesia.
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