Located at the back of the eye, the retina is attached to the vitreous, the gel-like substance that makes up for most of the eye’s volume. Although the vitreous begins as a thick substance with a firm shape, the consistency of the gel changes and becomes thinner and more watery as we age. A change in the shape of the vitreous can cause it to pull away from the retina and leave a tear. A retinal tear leaves the retina unprotected and can allow fluid to travel between the retina and the wall, which may lead to retinal detachment.
Preparation
The patient is advised to come to the hospital with an attendant. It is ideal to avoid eating anything for at least 2 hours prior to the procedure. Eye drops are applied to dilate the pupil. Any history of allergy to medicines must be revealed to the Doctor
During the procedure, patients might sometimes have nausea. Taking deep breaths helps to tide over this sensation.
Procedure
A small cannula is placed in the vein of the arm. After taking a few pictures of the fundus (back of the eye), an orange-yellow colored fluorescein dye is injected through the cannula. This dye travels through the blood vessels and reaches the eye within seconds when a series of rapid photographs of the fundus is taken. At this stage, it is extremely important to keep still with eyes wide open to get the best quality of pictures. Sometimes after the initial series of pictures further pictures are taken after giving a brief break (late phase pictures). On the whole, the procedure would last for about 15 minutes.
Retina treatment
To make a diagnosis, your ophthalmologist conducts a thorough eye exam and looks for abnormalities anywhere in the eye.
It is a test performed to identify the pattern of blood flow in the two layers of the back portion of the eye namely the retina and choroid.
Indications for the test: Some of the common indications for this test include:
- Diabetic macular edema
- Identification of proliferative diabetic retinopathy
- Retinal vein occlusions
- Central serous retinopathy
- Cystoid macular edema secondary to intermediate uveitis
- Retinal vasculitis
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy
- Choroidal neovascular membranes secondary to Myopia/Trauma/inflammation
Optical coherence tomography (OCT).
This test is an excellent technique for capturing precise images of the retina to diagnose epiretinal membranes, macular holes, and macular swelling(edema), to monitor the extent of age-related wet macular degeneration, and to monitor responses to treatment.
The OCT allows for the detection of other diseases such as macular holes, hypertensive retinopathy, and even optic nerve damage. Using an OCT allows for early treatment in patients and dramatically improves the success of these treatments, especially in diseases such as wet macular degeneration – where the eye disease progresses rapidly.
