Diabetic retinopathy:symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
Written by:In the following interview, Dr. Fernández Fernández explains all the details about diabetic retinopathy.
What is diabetic retinopathy? What types are there?
Diabetic retinopathy : is a vasculopathy that affects the retina and caused by diabetes .
There are two stages: Preproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy associated or not with macular edema and Diabetic Retinopathy also associated or not with macular edema, which can lead to severe hemorrhages and tractional retinal detachments.
What symptoms does it present?
Decreased visual acuity in advanced stages of the disease, which can be serious. Irreversible blindness caused by diabetes is the most important in terms of the number of patients who suffer in the Western world.
How is it diagnosed?
By means of eye fundus exploration and in special cases by performing the test as Fluorescein Angiography and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).
Which is the treatment? Is it necessary to require surgery?
The treatment is based on a metabolic control of the disease. From the local ophthalmological point of view, it can be treated with Argon laser photocoagulation, intraocular injections of antiangiogenic agents and / or corticosteroids and in more advanced cases by vitreous-retinal surgery.
