Macular Degeneration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painless Intravitreal Injections

 

 

There are two forms of macular degeneration. In the early stages, a breakdown of cells in and behind the macula occurs.
This is commonly referred to as Dry age related macular degeneration. Wet age related macular degeneration is a
progression of the disease, where new abnormal blood vessels may begin to grow. These new growths of abnormal blood
vessels will often leak fluid under the macula.

 

 

Early symptoms of the disease may include, blurred central vision, loss of detail when reading, distortion or dark spot in
central part of vision.

 

 

Diagnosis early is important. Your doctor can diagnose by doing a dilated exam, as well as fluorescein angiograms
and/or ocular coherence tomography. Fluorescein angiogram and ocular coherence tomography are both important test
that are done to help diagnose this condition.

 

 

Treatment can be done for the ‘wet’ stage of macular degeneration, however there is no “cure”. The most common form
of treatment is painless injections of a medication. The medication helps absorb the fluid that forms under the retina.

 

 

There is no cure for the dry stage of macular degeneration, at the present time. Your doctor may advise vitamins to help
slow down the progression of macular degeneration. It is very important to have your retina specialist monitor your eyes
closely to make sure there is no progression of the disease.

 

 

At this time, there is no proven “preventative treatment”. Routine eye exams can help in diagnosing macular
degeneration early, which in turn can help the patient better manage the disease.