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Retina Questions 
What are the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy? Often, there are no symptoms. As the condition becomes more advanced, blurred vision can occur from either swelling in the macula or bleeding in the eye. If bleeding occurs, the patient may see spots floating around or strings or cobwebs.
What are the symptoms of age-related macular degeneration? Blurred vision, especially wavy vision, difficulty distinguishing faces, a dark spot in the center of the vision that does not move. Often, the first symptom is when straight lines like window frames look crooked or wavy.
What are the symptoms of a retinal tear? New spots floating in the vision, flashing lights like lightening flashes. If a dark curtain comes down over the vision that is a symptom of detachment of the retina and that is an emergency requiring the immediate attention of an eye specialist.
Does treatment with laser hurt? Most Laser treatment does not hurt. Treatments for macular degeneration and for diabetic macular edema do not hurt. Usually, only numbing drops are necessary prior to the treatment. If more extensive laser treatment is done for bleeding from diabetes a numbing injection is often given to prevent eye pain.
What will the doctor do to examine the retina? After examination of the vision and dilation of the eyes, the doctor will look at the retina using a bright light and microscope. Then the doctor will decide whether any tests such as fluorescein angiogram, OCT, or other diagnostic tests are necessary and determine if laser treatment is necessary.
What is a fluorescein angiogram? This is a series of black and white photographs taken using a camera with special filters. In this test, a harmless dye is injected into your bloodstream and we photograph it as it circulates through your blood vessels. These photographs clearly show leaking and unhealthy blood vessels, which may need laser treatment.
What is OCT III? This is a relatively new technology which allows us to take pictures of and see the retina in the eye in three dimensions. This makes it easier to visualize changes within the retina such as swelling (macular edema) or bleeding. It can often be used to determine whether laser or other treatments are working effectively. It also allows us to measure the thickness of the nerve fiber layer in the back of the eye, which is helpful in diagnosing glaucoma. OCT stands for “Optical Coherence Tomography.”
What is an ultrasound test? This test uses sound waves far above the range of hearing to explore the structures within and around the eye. If bleeding occurs that prevents visualization of the back of the eye, we can use the ultrasound to take a picture of the back of the eye that the doctor can see. |
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