Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic Retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. Diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina. These damaged vessels then leak fluid or blood into the retina. This is called Background Diabetic Retinopathy. This fluid causes the retina to become "wet". If fluid leaks into the center part of the retina, or macula, the vision becomes blurry. We call this Macular Edema. Macular edema can be treated by an eye specialist with either laser surgery or steroids to help dry-up the retina so it works better. Our goal with this treatment is to prevent vision loss in the future.
When the retinal blood vessels are so damaged by Diabetes that they can no longer function, new "replacement" blood vessels grow on the retina. This is called Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. These vessels can leak blood into the vitreous (vitreous hemorrhage). This can cause a significant loss of vision. These vessels can also cause scar tissue to form on the retina. This can cause traction on the retina (tractional retinal detachment). Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy can be treated with laser surgery. If a retinal detachment or vitreous hemorrhage occurs, we can perform surgery to fix these problems. Any diabetic who has blurred vision, flashes, or floaters, should be seen promply by his/her eyecare specialist.