Retina

Be mindful of any changes in your vision to stay ahead of Retinal Diseases.

Retinal Disease Treatment in Baltimore, MD

Retinal diseases vary widely, but most of them cause visual symptoms. Treatment is available for most retinal diseases. Depending on your condition, treatment goals may be to stop or slow the disease and preserve, improve or restore your vision.

Left untreated, retinal diseases can cause severe vision impairments or blindness.

PATIENT RESOURCES

Retinal Diseases we treat:

  • Age-Related Macular Degeneration
  • Diabetic Retinopathy
  • Epiretinal Membrane
  • Macular Hole
  • Vitreomacular Traction
  • Retinal Tear/Detachment
  • Retinal Vascular Occlusions
  • Uveitis
  • Choroidal Nevus/Neoplasm
  • Retinal Dystrophies

WATCH physicians and patients talk about what makes Levin different.

What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetes complication that affects eyes. It’s caused by damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina).

At first, diabetic retinopathy may cause no symptoms or only mild vision problems. Eventually, it can cause blindness. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop this eye complication.

SLIDE the handle to the left and right to view how an affected eye sees the world.

eye disease simulation normal visioneye disease simulation diabetic retinopathy vision
SLIDE the handle to the left and right to view how an affected eye sees the world.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Diabetes is a disease that primarily affects the competency of our small blood vessels. The eyes are frequently affected in diabetes, a condition called diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy can cause a wide range of complications that can be visually threatening, from diabetic macular edema (or swelling around our visual center) to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (growth of new, fragile blood vessels on the retina which are prone to bleeding). Every diabetic patient deserves a dilated eye exam at least once annually; however, your prescribed follow-up schedule may require more frequent visits depending on the severity of your retinopathy.

It is possible to have diabetic retinopathy for a long time without noticing any symptoms at all. Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy may occur in one or both eyes. Symptoms may include:
  • Blurred or double vision
  • Difficulty reading
  • The appearance of spots – commonly called “floaters” – in your vision
  • A shadow across the field of vision
  • Eye pain or pressure
  • Difficulty with color perception

Frequently a surgical urgency, a diagnosis of a retinal tear usually requires prompt in-office treatment with laser. Retinal tears put us at great risk of developing a retinal detachment, which is a separation of the retina from the wall of the eye. A retinal detachment due to a retinal tear is surgical problem that is often reparable by either scleral buckling or vitrectomy surgery.

Central or branch retinal vein occlusions are a common cause of vision loss. They are most commonly related to a history of high blood pressure or a history of poorly controlled glaucoma. Based on the prognosis of the retinal vein occlusion, current treatment modalities offer an excellent chance at recovery of vision. Central or branch retinal artery occlusions are essentially small “strokes” which can happen in the retina that can affect our central and/or peripheral vision. This diagnosis underscores the importance of control of underlying diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Retinal dystrophies are genetic diseases affecting the retina, retinal pigment epithelium and choroid that can affect visual acuity. Incredible advances have recently been made in the field of retinal dystrophies where until recently the treatment options were quite limited.

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