India is the world capital of diabetes . The consequence of diabetes includes Diabetic Retinopathy(DR) which is a major cause of avoidable blindness around 12-18% of diabetic population develops Diabetic Retinopathy.
Diabetes causes the weakening of blood vessels in the body. The blood vessels in the retina are tiny and delicate and thus are more prone to undergo this deformation. Thus, these deformation and accompanied by structural changes of the retina is termed as Diabetic Retinopathy which leads to loss of vision.
The patients initially wouldn’t suffer from any symptoms and they will have perfect vision even though there would be bleeding and swelling of the retina. It is treatable at this stage so it is vital to get your retina examined regularly even though the vision is normal.
Some of the symptoms are:
Blurred Vision
Flashes
Floaters
Visual impairment
FAQ
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY ?
Laser is widely used treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy, a high energy light beam is used to stop or slow down the progression of diabetic retinopathy. Laser treatment is usually treated as an out-patient procedure. The ophthalmologist guides the laser beam on the diseased tissue which either reduces the retinal thickening or halts the bleeding.
Injections: Intraocular injections ( Anti _VEGF) are commonly used nowadays for control of diabetic retinopathy in various stages . These are done in painless manner and sterile conditions in the operating room, and the patient may resume normal activities after 2 days of rest. Injections are usually preferred over laser due to their ability to restore and improve vision . However a combination of treatment may serve best in many cases.
Vitrectomy: Due to the bleeding of the weakened vessels into the vitreous vision can be significantly reduced. These are signs of advance Diabetic Retinopathy. In these circumstances the vitreous is surgically removed (vitrectomy) and replaced by a clear artificial solution. Microincision Vitrectomy (MIVS) is the newest modality of surgery done in Prism Eye Institute using small guage ( 23 and 25Guage) instruments which allow quicker healing and lesser tissue trauma.
What is the cause of visual loss in Diabetics ?
Mainly the vision loss is caused due to two conditions:
Diabetic Macular Edema: The weakened blood vessels leak and accumulate fluid in the retina which causes swelling and exudation in the macula of the retina causing loss of vision
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR): Due to the weakening of the blood vessels, new abnormal blood vessels grow or proliferate causing bleeding into the vitreous. Vitreous is a jelly like substance in front of the retina. A severe vision loss occurs due to the bleeding into the vitreous. Later this blood forms membranes over the retina and during contraction , pulls on the thinned retina causing a retinal detachment