Are you a diabetic and are worried about your eyesight? One of the most common diabetic eye diseases is diabetic retinopathy, which is where the retina is damaged by sugar level fluctuation and high levels of blood sugar due to diabetes. It is a very serious disease, which may cause blindness if it is not treated.
One of the most common symptoms of diabetic retinopathy is where blood vessels swell and leak fluid. Some find that new blood vessels will grow abnormally on the surface of your retina. In order to diagnose whether you have diabetic retinopathy, our Ophthalmogists will conduct a comprehensive eye examination to detect any early signs of the disease. Regardless of whether you do not have any pain or symptoms, a diabetic should have a dilated eye exam annually by an Ophthalmologist to prevent the onset of diabetic eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy.
Should our expert Ophthalmogists suspect that you do have diabetic retinopathy, we will discuss the three treatments that are available for you to help you get better vision. We have found that even those with advanced diabetic retinopathy have a 90% chance of keeping their vision, provided they are treated before any severe damage to their retina.
The treatments available are:
- Laser surgery
- Intravitreal injection of Anti-VEGF or corticosteroids
- Vitrectomy
These treatments are very successful in terms of slowing down or even stopping further loss of vision. In some cases, patients can have excellent results where they have a marked increase in vision. However, this does not cure diabetic retinopathy. To book a diabetic retinopathy appointment, please call us on (08) 6144 3033.