Laser treatment for diabetic retinal pathology

You have been diagnosed with a retinal disease caused by diabetes mellitus (Retinopathia diabetica/diabetic retinopathy). This disease has gone so far for you that it became necessary to resort to laser treatment.

The purpose of such treatment is to create conditions that prevent the further spread of the disease.

Constant monitoring before and after treatment is required. Laser treatment is usually performed on both eyes and must be repeated several times.

Causes

The risk of this disease for a person with diabetes increases with the duration of the disease. This risk is especially increased if blood sugar levels and blood pressure are not regulated, i.e. if:

1. blood sugar levels are either very high or fluctuate greatly;
2. there is high blood pressure.

Risk factors. Diabetes disease, or diabetes mellitus, can lead to severe eye diseases. These include various forms of glaucoma and cataracts. But the greatest danger to vision is still a retinal disease caused by diabetes, diabetic retinopathy. In the later stages of this disease, it can spread to the vitreous and cause bleeding and the development of adhesions inside the eye. In this case, only an extensive combined operation on the retina and vitreous body can help.

Prevention

Consistently well-regulated blood sugar levels and normalized blood pressure reduce the risk of diabetic eye disease. However, normal blood sugar levels do not exclude the development of retinal disease caused by diabetes.

Symptoms

Changes in blood vessels (capillaries) in the initial stage or small retinal bleeding often go unnoticed by the patient.

Diagnostics

The examination is simple and absolutely painless. It is very important, especially considering the fact that the patient himself does not notice the early signs of the disease, such as vascular changes or small retinal bleeding. These manifestations still do not affect the quality of vision. But it is precisely these early manifestations and changes that make it possible to determine whether there is a need for treatment and, if so, when it is supposed to start treating the diseased eye.

Treatment

The treatment of diabetic retinal pathology, which today guarantees the best result, is the use of a laser. Laser therapy “turns off” parts of the diseased retinal tissues and thus improves the blood supply to the remaining, functionally important retinal tissues. The goal of therapy is not to improve vision, but to prevent the progression of the disease, or at least slow its development.