More about Diabetic Retinopathy

If you have diabetes, you should be alert to the potential of developing diabetic retinopathy. It estimated that 40 to 45 percent of patients diagnosed with diabetes also have some stage of diabetic retinopathy.

Untreated, diabetic retinopathy can lead to vision loss in one of two ways. First, proliferative retinopathy is a situation in which the tiny blood vessels of the retina leak blood in the center of the eye and blur vision. Second, macular edema is a condition in which fluid leaks into the center of the macula, causing it to swell, resulting in blurred vision. 

Stages of diabetic retinopathy

There are four stages of the disease:

  1. Mild nonproliferative retinopathy is the earliest stage. At this stage microaneurysms (small balloon-like swellings) occur in the retina’s blood vesses.
  2. Moderate nonproliferative retinopathy. At this stage some of the retina’s blood vessels become blocked.
  3. Severe nonproliferative retinopathy. At this stage many of the retina’s blood vessels become blocked, deprive the retina of its necessary blood supply, and cause the development and growth of new blood vessels.
  4. Proliferative retinopathy is an advanced stage of the disease. As new retinal blood vessels develop and grow abnormally, their fragile walls may leak blood and cause severe vision loss.

Treatment

During the first three stages of diabetic retinopathy, no treatment is necessary. Of course, diabetics should continue to monitor and control their blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and general health.

Proliferative retinopathy can be treated with laser surgery. The procedure, called scatter laser treatment, aims at shrinking the abnormal blood vessels that developed beneath the retina. In this procedure, 1,000 to 2,000 pulses or beams of laser energy at focused at selected spots on the retina away from the macula. This procedure is often performed in more than one session. Scatter laser treatment, while preserving remaining sight, may slightly reduce night and color vision.

Macular edema is treated with a different laser treatment, called focal laser treatment. This treatment aims several hundred pulses or beams of laser energy in the areas of retinal leakage around the macula, slowing the rate of leakage and reducing the amount of fluid in the retina.

Another treatment, called a vitrectomy, may be necessary to remove blood that has accumulated in the center of the eye (vitreous), creating blurred or clouded vision.

Should you need surgery to treat diabetic retinopathy, our staff of highly trained and experienced retinal specialists will explain these procedures in detail. You will know what to expect and the outcome that will result.