Top Diabetic Retinopathy treatment in HSR layout

Diabetes can affect the retina in various ways. The most common vision-threatening impediment is Diabetic Retinopathy, which damages the retina of your eye. Diabetic Retinopathy is a microangiopathy that affects retinal blood vessels. It not only destroys the light-sensitive layer of the eye but also the main cause of microvascular occlusion and leakage. Due to this leakage in blood vessels, fluid accumulation and hemorrhages chance is certain. This is the first stage of Diabetic Retinopathy and also referred to as Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR).

What happens in the late stages of Diabetic Retinopathy?

Due to the reduced blood supply to the retina in diabetic patients, eyes form their new blood vessels, called Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR). These blood vessels are so frangible, that your eyes can start bleeding anytime, which leads to vision loss. This condition is also known as Vitreous hemorrhage. In some cases, due to severe forms of traction, retinal detachment occurs.

Diagnosis and tests for Diabetic Retinopathy:

India’s best diabetologists and ophthalmologists could bring the implementation of the screening program for retinopathy. The prominent complication in diabetes retinopathy is that patients won’t feel any ocular symptoms until the central part of the retina through which one sees is affected, or bleeding occurs due to new blood vessels.

Diabetic Maculopathy and its features:

• It is the most common cause of a sudden drop in vision in diabetic patients.
• Fluid accumulation due to leakage in blood vessels leads to swelling in the macula. This swelling can be focal, diffuse, or ischemic.
• Localized swelling can occur for focal-focal leakage from the microaneurysm
• Likewise, diffuse-diffuse leakage leads to swelling from the posterior pole.
• Ischemic-in swelling decreases blood supply to the macula which leads to poor vision.

The process and procedure of diabetic patients:

Every diabetic patient is advised to take a comprehensive eye check at the hospital every year. It involves

• Testing vision using the latest equipment
• Measurement of the eye pressure
• Testing of the front part of the eye for cataract assessment by slit lamp
• Dilatation of the eye using eye drops
• Retinal (Fundus) examination of the eye

Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

FFA is a procedure that involves the injection of a dye in the vein of your hand, and a rapid series of photographs of the patient’s retina are taken. These photographs help the ophthalmologists to know the status of the blood vessels in retina and blockages if any.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive retinal photography technique that uses infrared light that shows the biological tissues, layers in the retina, especially the macula. While OCT does qualitative and quantitative measurements of the retinal morphology, FFA tracks disease progression, and detect the reaction of the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.

Treatment for diabetic retinopathy

Before any treatment starts, good blood sugar level control is the most important step for retinopathy. Laser photocoagulation and intravitreal injections are the two most popular treatment advised for diabetic patients with sight-threatening retinopathy. The laser photocoagulation treatment is usually done in 1-3 sittings.