Medical Retina (आँख का पर्दा)

In this service we treat conditions at the back of the eye, which are treated medically using drugs, eye drops or lasers, and includes diabetic eye screening. Conditions treated by clinicians in this service include age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy, retinal blood vessel blockages and inflammation at the back of the eye (uveitis).


Ther are various kind of diseases falls under Medical Retina category which are as follows:

  • Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
  • Diabetic Retinopathy
  • Diabetic Macular Edema(DME)
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What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetes complication that affects eyes. It's caused by damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina).

At first, diabetic retinopathy may cause no symptoms or only mild vision problems. Eventually, it can cause blindness.

The condition can develop in anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop this eye complication.

SYMPTOMS

You might not have symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. As the condition progresses, diabetic retinopathy symptoms may include:

  • Spots or dark strings floating in your vision (floaters)
  • Blurred vision
  • Fluctuating vision
  • Impaired color vision
  • Dark or empty areas in your vision
  • Vision loss

Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes.

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What is the treatment?

Treatment, which depends largely on the type of diabetic retinopathy you have and how severe it is, is geared to slowing or delaying progression of the condition.

 

Early diabetic retinopathy

 

If you have mild or moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, you may not need treatment right away. However, your eye doctor will closely monitor your eyes to determine when you might need treatment. Investigations like OCT and FFA help in early diagnosis of the changes and thereby decreasing the effect of diabetes on the quality of vision.

 

Work with your diabetes doctor (endocrinologist) to determine if there are ways to improve your diabetes management. When diabetic retinopathy is mild or moderate, good blood sugar control can usually slow the progression.

We work with you to determine if there are ways to improve your diabetes management. When diabetic retinopathy is mild or moderate, good blood sugar control can usually slow the progression.

 

Advanced diabetic retinopathy

If you have proliferative diabetic retinopathy or macular edema, you'll need prompt surgical treatment. Depending on the specific problems with your retina, options may include:

  • Photocoagulation: This laser treatment, also known as focal laser treatment, can stop or slow the leakage of blood and fluid in the eye. During the procedure, leaks from abnormal blood vessels are treated with laser burns.
  • Panretinal photocoagulation: This laser treatment, also known as scatter laser treatment, can shrink the abnormal blood vessels. During the procedure, the areas of the retina away from the macula are treated with scattered laser burns. The burns cause the abnormal new blood vessels to shrink and scar.
  • Vitrectomy: This procedure uses a tiny incision in your eye to remove blood from the middle of the eye (vitreous) as well as scar tissue that's tugging on the retina. It's done in a surgery center or hospital using local or general anesthesia.
  • Injecting medicine into the eye: Your doctor may suggest injecting medication into the vitreous in the eye. These medications, called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors, may help stop growth of new blood vessels by blocking the effects of growth signals the body sends to generate new blood vessels.

Myths / Frequently Asked Questions

1What is the most common eye complaint in diabetic patients?
Answer: Fluctuation in vision. The excess sugar in diabetics can cause this condition. A good control of blood sugar is recommended to minimize this problem
2What is the most common diabetic eye disease?
Answer: Diabetic retinopathy: This disease is a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina. In some people with diabetic retinopathy, retinal blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. These changes may result in vision loss or blindness.
3Who is most likely to get diabetic retinopathy?
Answer: Anyone with diabetes. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she is to get diabetic retinopathy. Nearly half of all people with diabetes will develop some degree of diabetic retinopathy during their lifetime.
4How common are the other diabetic eye diseases?
Answer: If you have diabetes, you are also at risk for other diabetic eye diseases. Studies show that you are twice as likely to get a cataract as a person who does not have the disease. Also, cataracts develop at an earlier age in people with diabetes. Cataracts can usually be treated by surgery. Glaucoma may also become a problem. A person with diabetes is nearly twice as likely to get glaucoma as other adults. And, as with diabetic retinopathy, the longer you have had diabetes, the greater your risk of getting glaucoma. Glaucoma may be treated with medications, laser, or other forms of surgery.
5How can diabetes affect my vision?
Answer:If you have diabetes mellitus, your body does not use and store sugar properly. High blood-sugar levels can damage blood vessels in the retina, the nerve layer at the back of the eye that senses light and helps to send images to the brain. The damage to retinal vessels is referred to as diabetic retinopathy.
6What is the treatment for diabetic retinopathy?
Answer: Most sight-threatening diabetic problems can be prevented by laser treatment if it is given early enough. It is important to realize however, that laser treatment aims to save the sight you have, not to make it better. The laser, a beam of high intensity light, can be focused with extreme precision. So the blood vessels that are leaking fluid into the retina can be sealed.
7Can diabetes cause cataract?
Answer:Yes. Uncontrolled blood sugar can result in cataract formation.
8Can diabetes cause bleeding inside the eye?
Answer:Yes. This is the most important sign of diabetic retinopathy. In early stages, the bleeding is very minimal, in the form of small aneurysms. These areas may leak. In later stages, the retina loses its blood supply and new blood vessels grow. These new blood vessels are very weak and cause bleeding inside the eye.
9What is the treatment for bleeding inside the eye during diabetes?
Answer:In early stages, an angiogram is done to detect the sites of bleeding and proper and timely laser treatment to clog these sites can prevent further loss of your vision. In later stages, surgery is done to remove the blood.
10Can diabetes cause retinal detachment?
Answer:Yes. Bleeding and then scarring inside the eye results in retinal detachment due to traction.
11Can diabetes cause glaucoma?
Answer:Yes. If new vessels start growing in the angle (drainage area for the eye fluid), a type of glaucoma called “neovascular glaucoma” develops. This is very difficult to manage.
12Can diabetes result in blindness?
Answer:Yes. End result of uncontrolled diabetic retinopathy is permanent blindness.
13What can be done to prevent diabetes related blindness?
Answer:A routine follow-up with your ophthalmologist and early and proper treatment is recommended to prevent this blindness. Depending on your initial examination, you may need examination every 3 months to once a year. Along with an eye examination, a good control of your blood sugar is very important.
14Why are regular eye examinations so important?
Answer:Most sight loss from diabetic retinopathy can be prevented but it is vital that it is diagnosed early. You may not realize that there is anything wrong with your eyesight, so regular eye checks are extremely important.
15When does a diabetic patient need to schedule an eye exam?
Answer:People with diabetes should schedule eye exams at least once a year. More frequent medical eye exams may be necessary after the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. You should have your eyes checked promptly if you have visual changes that affect only one eye; last more than a few days; and not associated with a change in your blood sugar.
16I am diabetic and I am pregnant, what should I do?
Answer:Pregnant women with diabetes should get an eye exam in the first trimester because retinopathy can progress quickly during pregnancy.
17I need to be examined for glasses, do I need to have a stable blood sugar level?
Answer:If you need to be examined for glasses, it is important that your blood sugar be in consistent control for several days when you see your ophthalmologist. Glasses that work well when the blood sugar is out of control will not work well when sugar is stable. Rapid changes in blood sugar can cause fluctuating vision in both eyes even if retinopathy is not present.
18What can I do to protect my vision?
Answer:Finding and treating the disease early, before it causes vision loss or blindness, is the best way to control diabetic eye disease. Therefore, if you have diabetes, make sure you get a dilated eye examination at least once a year.
19I want to get my eyes checked for diabetic retinopathy, what is the next step?
Answer:Schedule an appointment at Manocha Eye Hospital by calling tat 0171-2550092, 0171-2553053.