Eye problems that may occur as a complication of diabetes in people with diabetes are called diabetic eye disease. Problems that may occur in diabetic eye disease:
– Diabetic retinopathy: It is the damage that develops in the blood vessels in the network layer called the retina.
– Cataract: It is the clouding of the lens of the eye and its loss of transparency. Cataracts appear at an earlier age in diabetic patients.
– Glaucoma: Increased intraocular pressure and as a result, damage to the optic nerve, reducing vision. A person with diabetes has twice the risk of developing glaucoma than other people.
Prof. Dr. Tansu Erakgün
Retina Diseases and Vitreoretinal Surgery Specialist
Born on March 20, 1968, in İzmir, Prof. Dr. Tansu Erakgün completed his middle education at Saint Joseph College and his high school education at Karşıyaka Gazi High School. After graduating from Ege University Faculty of Medicine in 1992, which he entered in 1986, he began his residency training in the Department of Ophthalmology at Ege University Faculty of Medicine Hospital in the same year. In 1997, he became a specialist...
About Me VideosWHAT IS DIABETIC RETINOPATHY?
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most important causes of blindness today. It occurs as a result of changes in the retinal blood vessels. The retina (network layer) is the light-sensitive layer and must be healthy for visual function.
Different types of damage occur in diabetic retinopathy. The structure of the blood vessels deteriorates and small bubbles form, causing bleeding and leakage of the fluid within the vessel into the surrounding tissues. In later stages, unwanted new vascular buds form on the retina and cause sudden intraocular bleeding.
In diabetic retinopathy, vision loss does not occur at first, but as the disease progresses, vision loss occurs over time. Therefore, there is no such thing as a diabetic patient who has no complaints about his vision not to have diabetic retinopathy; eye checks are required at regular intervals. Diabetes usually affects both eyes.
What are the stages of diabetic retinopathy?
- Mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy: In this early stage, bubbles called micro-aneurysms form in the retinal vessels.
- Moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy: Bubbles in the retinal vessels have increased and occlusions have occurred in the vessels.
- Severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy: Vascular occlusions and bleeding have increased, and oxygen deficiency in the retina has become evident.
- Proliferative diabetic retinopathy: Lack of oxygen and malnutrition in the retina increased and danger signals were sent to the brain, causing new and unhealthy blood vessels to form in the retina. These new vessels are very delicate and can cause bleeding and sudden vision loss at any time.
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How does diabetic retinopathy cause vision loss?
Diabetic retinopathy causes vision loss in two ways:
- The fluid leaking from the weakened vessels collects in the visual center called the macula and a blister called macular edema occurs. This condition gradually reduces vision over time.
- In advanced stages, sudden bleeding may occur from unhealthy, weak new vascular formations and lead to sudden vision loss.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Who is at risk for diabetic retinopathy?
All people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are at risk of diabetic retinopathy. Every diabetic patient should undergo a detailed retinal scan with pupil dilation at least once a year. The longer you have had diabetes, the greater the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy.
Pregnancy is another risk for women with diabetes. The frequency of detailed retinal examinations should be increased during pregnancy.
What should I do to protect my vision?
If you have diabetes, you should have a detailed retina examination at least once a year. Diabetic retinopathy is an insidious disease. A person with diabetes may develop advanced diabetic retinopathy over the years without any damage to vision.
Whether you have vision problems or not, your ophthalmologist may recommend diabetic retinopathy treatment. Early diagnosis and timely treatment can largely prevent vision loss.
If diabetic retinopathy has developed, more frequent retinal examinations are required. In the presence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the risk of vision loss can be prevented by 95% with appropriate and timely treatment.
Regulating blood sugar largely prevents or slows down the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy. Apart from this, it also prevents or slows down kidney and terminal nerve damage.
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Who is at Risk for Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that causes inflammation and damage to the retina layer at the back of the eye in individuals with diabetic disease. Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common eye diseases encountered by individuals with diabetic disease and can affect the quality of vision. Individuals at risk for diabetic retinopathy include those with the following factors:
- Diabetic disease: Diabetic retinopathy is more common in individuals with diabetic disease.
- High blood sugar: High blood sugar levels increase the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
- High blood pressure: High blood pressure increases the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
- Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
- Obesity: Obesity increases the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
What are the symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is an insidious disease. In the early stages of the disease, there are no symptoms, and diabetic retinopathy is a painless disease. It is necessary not to wait for symptoms to be examined and to have a retinal examination once a year.
If fluid accumulation, called macular edema, occurs in the visual center called the macula, blurred vision begins. If unwanted new and diseased vascularization begins in the retina in the advanced stage, these vessels may suddenly bleed and vision may be suddenly lost.
What are the Findings of Proliferative Retinopathy in the Presence of Bleeding?
In case of sudden bleeding, floaters are often seen as the first symptom. After a while, vision may be completely blocked.
If floaters are seen, it is necessary to undergo a detailed retinal examination and receive the necessary treatment without delay, otherwise bleeding will become severe and vision may be completely blocked. Most sudden bleeding occurs in the morning while sleeping.
Sometimes, without treatment, bleeding may resolve on its own and vision may return. However, this is misleading and the risk of bleeding recurrence is very high. Therefore, it is necessary to consult a doctor without waiting for the bleeding to subside.
If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy results in severe vision loss. Likewise, vision gains are greater with early treatment.
How to Detect Diabetic Retinopathy and Macular Edema?
A detailed retinal examination includes the following tests;
- Visual acuity measurement: It measures how much vision there is from a certain distance.
- Retinal examination: The pupils are dilated by instilling various drops. A detailed retinal examination is performed using various lenses.
- Eye pressure measurement.
- Fluorescein angiography: During a detailed retinal examination, your doctor may recommend fluorescein angiography if deemed necessary. A dye is injected into the arm veins and retinal photographs are taken consecutively from both eyes. In this way, information is obtained about the vascular structure of the retina of the eye. Treatment is directed accordingly.
- Optical coherence tomography: In recent years, a device called optical coherence tomography (OCT) has also been used to detect and follow up macular edema. Without any intervention to the patient, realistic cross-sections of the macular region are obtained in a short time. Diode laser light beam is used for this. OCT gives us detailed information about macular edema.
HOW IS IZMIR DIABETIC RETINOPATHY TREATED?
There is no need to treat diabetic retinopathy if there is no macular edema, especially in the early stages. Blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol values must be kept under control only to prevent its progression. If unwanted new vessels have formed in the retina (proliferative diabetic retinopathy), laser treatment should be applied to the entire retina (except the visual center).
Diabetic retinopathy treatment Izmir usually takes two or three sessions. This laser treatment should be performed before bleeding into the eye begins. Laser treatment is not possible in the presence of severe bleeding. If the bleeding is very intense, surgical cleaning of the bleeding, called vitrectomy, is required. With vitrectomy, the bleeding inside the eye is completely cleaned and the necessary laser treatment is applied in the same surgery.
How is Izmir Macular Edema Treated?
Diabetic macular edema is treated with laser. Although one session is usually sufficient, in stubborn cases more than one session may be required. If you have macular edema in both eyes, one eye should be treated first and the other eye should be treated within a few weeks.
Generally speaking, laser treatment prevents the risk of blindness due to diabetes by 90%. However, laser treatment often cannot replace vision that is already lost. That’s why early diagnosis and treatment is very important.
In recent years, some new treatments other than laser have begun to be used, especially in macular edema that develops due to diabetes. These new drugs, called anti-VEGF, provide a certain improvement in diabetic retinopathy by preventing the formation of diseased new vessels and also by preventing vascular leaks that lead to macular edema.
These drugs, given by injecting them into the eye, can be used alone or with laser, and they also allow a certain increase in vision compared to lasers. However, it should not be forgotten that anti-VEGF treatment is a surgical treatment and is an injection into the eye.
Therefore, it inevitably brings with it some risks such as infection and retinal tear. Therefore, it is a treatment that should be applied in an operating room environment, under extremely sterile conditions, by experienced physicians who are experts on the subject.
In addition, retina specialist physicians should decide in which cases it should be done and how often it should be applied.
What is Vitrectomy?
If bleeding occurs inside the eye due to diabetic retinopathy, vitrectomy surgery is performed.
Vitrectomy can be performed under local or general anesthesia. The type of anesthesia is determined by the joint decision of the patient and the physician. In vitrectomy, small holes are made in the wall of the eye and very thin instruments are inserted through these holes to clean the fluid and bleeding inside the eye, called vitreous.
The cleansing fluid is replaced with a medical fluid called balanced salt solution. Laser treatment of the retina is often completed in the same surgery. Protective eye drops are applied for approximately one month after the surgery.
It should not be forgotten that diabetes is a systemic disease. The health of the eye is directly proportional to blood sugar, arm blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Diabetic retinopathy is an insidious disease. Severe damage to the retina occurs even before vision loss occurs. That’s why regular check-ups, early diagnosis and correct treatment are very important.
Complete treatment of diabetic retinopathy is not possible. Certain damage it causes is permanent. The treatments applied can correct the complications caused by diabetic retinopathy in a limited way. That’s why early diagnosis and treatment is very important.
| Processing Time | 15 minutes |
| Risks | Infection, retinal tear, intraocular bleeding |
| Side Effects | Cataract Development |
| Who Could It Be? | Those whose vision has decreased due to diabetic retinopathy or who do not respond to intraocular injection treatment |
| Back to Work | About 1 month |
Izmir Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment Prices
You can contact your doctor to get information about Izmir Diabetic retinopathy prices.
F.A.Q.
Can diabetic retinopathy be treated?
Diabetic retinopathy can be treated and possible vision loss can be prevented. Diabetic retinopathy is a disease that occurs in the retina layer in the eye in diabetics. Diabetic retinopathy may occur because the blood sugar levels of diabetics are not checked regularly or diabetes is not treated effectively. It is known that diabetic retinopathy can lead to complete blindness if left untreated.
What does a person with diabetic retinopathy see?
A person with diabetic retinopathy may often have reduced vision and may show disturbances or deformations in the field of vision. A person with diabetic retinopathy may have cataracts (water collection inside the eye) or diabetic macular edema (swelling in the center of the eye), which reduces vision. He may lose his ability to see clearly due to changes occurring inside the eye, such as.
What is the most common treatment for diabetic retinopathy?
Needle therapy: This treatment method involves injecting medication into the eye of a person with diabetic retinopathy through microscopic needles. Needle therapy helps reduce bleeding inside the eye and reduce swelling (edema) in the center of the eye.
Laser therapy: This treatment method involves burning the retina layer by sending laser beams into the eye of a person with diabetic retinopathy. Laser treatment helps reduce bleeding inside the eye and reduce edema (swelling) in the eye center.
References:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetic-retinopathy/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20371617
Stitt, A. W., Curtis, T. M., Chen, M., Medina, R. J., McKay, G. J., Jenkins, A., … & Lois, N. (2016). The progress in understanding and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Progress in retinal and eye research, 51, 156-186.