medical retinal disease
What is medical retinal disease?
Retinal diseases are conditions that affect the retina, many of which can lead to blindness. The retina is a layer of tissue situated at the back of the eye. It works by sensing light and sending images to the brain. The macula is located in this nerve tissue, and allows for clear, central vision. When a retinal disease affects this tissue, vision is impaired.
Some common retinal diseases include:
- Macular degeneration
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Retinal detachment
- Retinoblastoma
- Macular pucker
- Macular hole
- Specks in the field of vision
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
How can retinal diseases be treated?
There are a number of treatment options available. These include:
- Scatter laser photocoagulation
This technique works by shrinking abnormal blood vessels. The procedure is often recommended for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy where blood vessels are bleeding or showing signs that they may start to bleed. - Cryopexy
During this procedure, your surgeon will apply a freezing probe to the wall of the eye in order to freeze the retina. This helps to secure the retina to the eye wall. - Pneumatic retinopexy
This refers to a procedure where air or gas is injected into the eye in order to repair retinal detachment. It is often used together with other treatments such as cryopexy and laser photocoagulation. - Scleral buckling
This procedure works by indenting the surface of the eye in order to repair retinal detachment. During the surgery, your surgeon will sew some silicone to the outside surface of the eye in order to reduce some of the force on the retina. - Vitrectomy
During this procedure, the vitreous is removed and replaced with air, gas or liquid. This technique is useful for treating retinal tears, infections, eye trauma or retinal detachment. - Eye injections
Injecting medication into the eye may be recommended for the treatment of wet macular degeneration, broken blood vessels and diabetic retinopathy.
