Advanced Retina Care
Protect and preserve your vision with our expert retina procedures. Our specialized team uses cutting-edge technology to diagnose and treat retinal conditions, ensuring comprehensive care for your eye health. From macular degeneration to diabetic retinopathy, or if you experience floaters or retinal detachment, trust us to deliver precise and effective treatments to keep your vision clear and vibrant.
FAQs
At Dr. Black’s Eye Associates, our commitment to advanced retina care spans four decades. With state-of-the-art technology and a team of specialists, we provide tailored treatments to safeguard your vision with precision and compassion, ensuring you receive the highest standard of care.
Diabetic retinopathy is treated through a combination of medical interventions, lifestyle modifications, and in some cases, surgical procedures. The treatment approach depends on the severity of the condition and whether it has progressed to advanced stages.
During the first three stages of diabetic retinopathy, no treatment is needed, unless you have macular edema. To prevent progression of diabetic retinopathy, people with diabetes should control their levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol.
Proliferative retinopathy is treated with laser surgery. This procedure is called scatter laser treatment. Scatter laser treatment helps to shrink the abnormal blood vessels. Your doctor places 1,000 to 2,000 tiny 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 you may notice some loss of your side vision, scatter laser treatment can save the rest of your sight. Scatter laser treatment may slightly reduce your 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.
If the bleeding is severe, you may need a surgical procedure called a vitrectomy. During a vitrectomy, blood is removed from the center of your eye.
Early detection and timely treatment are critical to preserving vision and preventing severe vision loss from diabetic retinopathy. If you have diabetes, regular eye exams by an eye care professional are essential, even if you do not have any noticeable vision problems. Managing diabetes effectively and following your doctor's recommendations for eye care can significantly reduce the risk of vision loss due to diabetic retinopathy.
Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is treated through various approaches depending on the type (dry or wet) and the stage of the disease.
Lucentis® & Avastin® therapy
Lucentis is FDA-approved as safe and effective in the treatment of “wet” macular degeneration. This more advanced type of the disease is characterized by growth of abnormal, fragile blood vessels in the retina.
Although it was not specifically developed for this purpose, Avastin, too, has been known to produce good results when administered to treat macular degeneration. Your doctor may recommend monthly injections of either Lucentis or Avastin, both of which target a protein called “VEGF” that contributes to the growth of the abnormal blood vessels.
Early detection and intervention are crucial in managing AMD to prevent severe vision loss. Regular eye exams, especially for individuals over 50 or those with a family history of AMD, can help identify the disease in its early stages when treatments are most effective.
Retinal detachment is a serious eye emergency that requires prompt medical attention. Treatment for retinal detachment typically involves surgical intervention to repair the detachment and prevent permanent vision loss. The specific treatment approach depends on the type and severity of the detachment, as well as the individual's overall eye health.
Small holes and tears are treated with laser surgery or a freeze treatment called cryopexy. These procedures are usually performed in the doctor’s office. During laser surgery, tiny burns are made around the hole to “weld” the retina back into place. Cryopexy freezes the area around the hole and helps reattach the retina.
Retinal detachments are treated with surgery that may require the patient to stay in the hospital.
In some cases, a scleral buckle, a tiny synthetic band, is attached to the outside of the eyeball to gently push the wall of the eye against the detached retina.
If necessary, a vitrectomy may also be performed. During a vitrectomy, the doctor makes a tiny incision in the sclera (white of the eye). Next, small instrument is placed into the eye to remove the vitreous, a gel-like substance that fills the center of the eye and helps the eye maintain a round shape. Gas is often injected into the eye to replace the vitreous and reattach the retina; the gas pushes the retina back against the wall of the eye. During the healing process, the eye makes fluid that gradually replaces the gas and fills the eye. With all of these procedures, either laser or cryopexy is used to “weld” the retina back in place.
With modern therapy, more than 90% of those with a retinal detachment can be successfully treated, although sometimes a second treatment is needed. However, the visual outcome is not always predictable. The final visual result may not be known for up to several months following surgery. Even under the best of circumstances, and even after multiple attempts at repair, treatment sometimes fails and vision may eventually be lost. Visual results are best if the retinal detachment is repaired before the macula (the center region of the retina responsible for fine, detailed vision) detaches. That is why it is important to contact an eye care professional immediately if you see a sudden or gradual increase in the number of floaters and/or light flashes, or a dark curtain over the field of vision.
f you experience sudden changes in vision, such as flashes of light, floaters, or a curtain-like shadow over your vision, it's essential to seek immediate medical attention. Retinal detachment requires timely intervention to maximize the chances of successful treatment and preserve vision. Early detection and treatment significantly improve the prognosis for individuals with retinal detachment.
Eye floaters are small, semi-transparent specks or clouds that drift across your field of vision. They are often caused by age-related changes in the vitreous humor, the gel-like substance that fills the back of the eye. While floaters are generally harmless and don't require treatment, they can be bothersome.
For people who have floaters that are simply annoying, no treatment is recommended. On rare occasions, floaters can be so dense and numerous that they significantly affect vision. In these cases a vitrectomy may be needed.
A vitrectomy removes the vitreous gel, along with its floating debris, from the eye. The vitreous is replaced with a salt solution. Because the vitreous is mostly water, you will not notice any change between the salt solution and the original vitreous. This operation carries significant risks to sight because of possible complications, which include retinal detachment, retinal tears, and cataract. Most eye surgeons are reluctant to recommend this surgery unless the floaters seriously interfere with vision.
While eye floaters can be irritating, they are usually harmless and may improve over time. If you experience sudden changes in floaters or other concerning symptoms, seek prompt evaluation by an eye care professional to ensure early detection and appropriate management.