How is diabetic retinopathy diagnosed? Laser Surgery: Getting an eye exam is the best way to • Once diabetic retinopathy has detect any changes inside your eye. If di- progressed laser surgery is abetic retinopathy is found, your doctor recommended for people with macular edema, PDR, and neovascular will order a fluorescein angiography tests A Closer Look at where a dye is injected into your arm to glaucoma. ERM (Epiretinal detect where fluid is leaking in your eye, • In laser surgery for macular edema, Diabetic or where abnormal blood vessels are. which is performed in the office, the Membrane) laser is focused on the retina near the Retinopathy How is diabetic retinopathy treated? macula to decrease the amount of Compliments of Intravitreal Injections fluid leaking. The purpose of the treat- Vatsal Doshi, MD, MPH and • A common treatment for diabetic ment is to stop and prevent further Jonathan Huz, MD of retinopathy are injections in the eye leakage and loss of vision. Vitreous Retina Macula Specialists with a drug called Avastin. This drug • For patients with PDR, the laser is of New Jersey is a VEGF blocker which targets focused on all other areas of the retina specific chemicals in your body that except the macula. cause swelling and growth of abnormal • This treatment prevents abnormal blood vessels in the retina. blood vessels from growing and causes the new abnormal blood vessels to shrink.Vitreous bleeding can also decrease by panretinal photocoagulation. Vitrectomy: • In advanced PDR, a vitrectomy may be (OCT scan before intravitreal injection showing diffused cystic macular edema) recommended by your retina surgeon. During the surgery, which is performed in an operating room, the blood-filled vitreous is replaced by a clear solution. Millburn • Vitrectomy prevents further bleeding 306 Main Street, 2nd Floor by removing the abnormal vessels that Millburn, NJ 07041 were causing the fluid leakage and P (973) 467-2020 (OCT scan before intravitreal (OCT scan after intravitreal F (973) 467-2030 injection showing resolution of macular edema) bleeding. • If the patient’s retina is detached, it Somerset can be repaired during a vitrectomy 1543 Route 27, Suite 12 surgery. Surgery should be done early Somerset, NJ 08873 as macular distortion or tractional ret- P (732) 839-0516 inal detachment will cause permanent F (732) 253-5259 Patient Education visual loss. W vrmnjretina.com E [email protected] Symptoms be mild to severe, Tractional retinal detachment: How diabetes can affect sight It is possible to have diabetic retinopathy although peripheral When PDR is present, the scar tissue If you are a person living with and not know it. In fact, it is uncommon vision is still associated with diabetes mellitus, your body is to have symptoms in the early stages of functional. This neovasculariza- not able to use and store sugar diabetic retinopathy. type of vision loss tion can shrink is most common which causes properly. Due to high blood sugar As the condition progresses, symptoms in diabetes. wrinkling and levels, blood vessels in the retina may include: spots or “floaters”; fluctu- pulling on the become damaged. Damage to the ating vision; dark or empty areas in your PDR retina, moving it retinal vessels is referred to as vision; difficulty seeing at night; impaired • The most severe type of diabetic from its original diabetic retnopathy. color vision; decreased vision. retinopathy. place. At first, diabetic retinopathy may • Abnormal blood vessels grow in the Types of Diabetic Retinopathy Neovascular glaucoma: When there is cause no symptoms or only mild retina in response to the widespread a large amount of retinal vessel clo- vision problems. Eventually, There are two types of diabetic closure of current retinal blood sure, new abnormal blood vessels will however, diabetic retinopathy retinopathy: nonproliferative (NPDR) vessels. Sometimes the new blood ves- grow on the iris and block normal fluid can result in blindness. and proliferative (PDR). sels grow or leak into the clear, flow. This increases the pressure in the NPDR jelly-like substance that fills the Diabetic retinopathy can develop eye resulting in neovascular glaucoma center of your eye (vitreous). in anyone who has type 1 diabetes • Commonly known as background which damages the optic nerve. or type 2 diabetes. The longer retinopathy, is the early stage of • Scar tissue may form due to the you have diabtes, and the less diabetic retinopathy. growth of new blood vessels which Schedule an Eye Examination cause the retina to detach from the controlled your blood sugar is, • Tiny blood vessels inside the retina leak People with diabetes should schedule back of the eye. If the more likely you are to develop blood or fluid. The leaking fluid causes an examination at least once a year. the new blood diabetic retinopathy. the retina to swell or form exudates. Fluctuation in blood sugar can cause vessels interfere • Vision becomes affected due to changes in both eyes. Remember with the normal macular edema caused by the leaking that vision loss is preventable when flow of fluid out of blood vessels. detected early. If you have diabetes the eye, pressure you can lower your risk of vision loss may build up in the by maintaining strict control of your eyeball, causing blood sugar and visiting your diabetes glaucoma. and eye doctors regularly. Vitreous hemorrhage: The new blood vessels that form are fragile and may Vision loss is preventable (Above is a OCT scan of a patient with macular edema bleed into the vitreous. Depending on Early detection of diabetic retinopathy showing fluid and cystic swelling within the retina) the size of the hemorrhage, a person is the best protection against vision might see only a few dark spots or it loss. By maintaining control of your It is important to take preven- Macular Edema is swelling of a small area may block the vision completely. It tion seriously – Start by taking in the center of the retina called the mac- blood sugar level and visiting your control of your blood sugar lev- may take days, months or years for doctor regularly, you can lower ula which allows us to see finer details. the blood to be reabsorbed; if the eye el, blood pressure, cholesterol & The swelling is a result of fluid leaking your risk of vision loss due to scheduling annual eye exams. does not clear, a vitrectomy surgery diabetic retinopathy. from retinal blood vessels. Vision loss may may be recommended.