Patient Procedures at Mountain View Eye Center
Diabetic Eye Laser Treatment
Eye Laser Treatment
Panretinal Photocoagulation Treatment For Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy, is retinopathy (damage to the blood vessels of the retina) caused by diabetes – both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina.
In some people with diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina.
Diabetic retinopathy is treated with panretinal photocoagulation, also called scatter laser treatment. This procedure helps to shrink the abnormal blood vessels by placing 1,000 to 2,000 laser burns in the areas of the retina away from the macula, causing the abnormal blood vessels to shrink.
Because a high number of laser burns are necessary, two or more sessions usually are required to complete treatment. Although a patient may notice some loss of their side vision, scatter laser treatment can save the rest of their sight. Scatter laser treatment may slightly reduce color vision and night vision.
Scatter laser treatment works better before the fragile, new blood vessels have started to bleed. That is why it is important to have regular, comprehensive dilated eye exams. Even if bleeding has started, scatter laser treatment may still be possible, depending on the amount of bleeding.
Focal Grid Laser For Diabetic Macula Edema
Blood vessels damaged from diabetic retinopathy can also cause vision loss when fluid leaks into the center of the macula, the part of the eye where sharp, straight-ahead vision occurs. The fluid makes the macula swell, blurring vision. This condition is called macular edema. It can occur at any stage of diabetic retinopathy, although it is more likely to occur as the disease progresses. About half of the people with proliferative retinopathy also have macular edema.
Diabetic macular edema is treated with focal laser treatment that places up to several hundred small laser burns in the areas of retinal leakage surrounding the macula. These burns slow the leakage of fluid and reduce the amount of fluid in the retina. The surgery is usually completed in one session. Further treatment may be needed.
A patient may need focal laser surgery in Fairbanks more than once to control the leaking fluid. If macular edema is present in both eyes and both require laser surgery, generally only one eye will be treated at a time, usually several weeks apart.
Focal laser treatment stabilizes vision. In fact, focal laser treatment reduces the risk of vision loss by 50 percent. In a small number of cases, if vision is lost, it can be improved.
