Retina
Protect Your Vision
A retina specialist is a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of conditions affecting the retina and the vitreous gel in the back of the eye.
Types of Retina Disorders
Your retina is essential for sight. This is the component of your eye that converts light into the electrical signals that travel through your optical nerve to your brain.
- Diabetic Retinopathy– Diabetic retinopathy occurs in individuals who have high blood sugar. This condition causes the small blood vessels in the back of the eye to leak.
- Macular Degeneration– Macular degeneration causes the loss of central vision. It can either be wet or dry. However, most individuals develop dry macular degeneration first. Then, it progresses into wet macular degeneration.
- Macular Holes– Macular holes occur when there is a problem with the center of the retina. This can occur to due an injury to the eye or another condition.
- Retina Tears– Retinal tears typically occur when the retina is pulled by the eye. This typically happens with the gel in the eye shrinks. Individuals with retinal tears typically see flashing lights or floaters.
- Retinal Detachment– Retinal detachments occur when the retina becomes separated from the underlying tissue. This is usually caused by excess fluid and is usually present alongside a retinal tear.
- Retinitis Pigmentosa– Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic condition, which means it usually appears in families. Individuals with this retina problem typically lose their night vision and peripheral vision.
Signs You Need to Schedule an Appointment with One of Our Eye Doctors
Individuals with retinal problems will notice changes in their vision. Regular exams can help catch these issues before they cause vision loss. However, once vision loss or changes in vision occur, it’s important to schedule an appointment at our retina center.
- Blind spots
- Blurry vision
- Flashes of light
- Floaters
- Loss of peripheral vision
- Seeing wavy lines that should be straight
Diagnosing Disorders of the Retina
Diagnosing retinal eye diseases is done via a dilated eye exam and a retinal scan. Dilating your eyes allows our eye doctor to look at the back of your eye in order to determine if there are any abnormalities. Additionally, our eye doctors may perform:
- An Amsler Grid Test– It is a grid of straight lines. If they appear wavy, distorted or broken, you may have retina problems.
- An Optical Coherence Tomography Test– this test helps capture accurate images of all of your retina layers. It’s often used to diagnose retinal tears and holes as well as swelling in the retina.
- A Fluorescein Angiography– This test involves the use of dyes that show up under certain light. This test is most often used to diagnose problems with the blood vessels in the back of the eye.
Retina Treatment
Our retinal doctors may recommend certain procedures if you have diabetic retinopathy or holes or tears in your retina. Some available procedures include:
- Cryopexy– This option helps treat retinal tears. A freezing probe is applied to the eye that freezes the retina. This creates scar tissue that helps keep the retina attached to its underlying tissue.
- Laser Eye Surgery– This is used to fuse retinal tears to the underlying tissue.
- Pneumatic Retinopexy– This is used to treat certain types of retinal tears. During this procedure, air is injected into the eye.
- Scatter Laser Photocoagulation– This is used to shrink the blood vessels in individuals with diabetic retinopathy.
- Vitreoretinal surgery– This surgery involves removing some of the gelatinous matter in the eye. This procedure is used to remove foreign matter from inside the eye. Once the gel is removed, a saline solution is usually inserted in its place. This treatment is used to help with diabetic retinopathy, macular holes, retinal detachment and removal of foreign bodies in the eye.