Retinal vein occlusion
Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) refers to the blockage of a vein in the retina.
Your retina is the layer of tissue at the back of your eye that turns light into the images you see. A blocked retinal vein prevents blood from leaving your retina, which can result in an increase in pressure in the retinal vein, followed by bleeding and swelling of the macula.
As a result, retinal vein occlusion can suddenly, but painlessly, cause a loss of vision. In some instances, however, it may not affect the area you see with and so cause no visual loss at the time but may cause issues later.
There are two types of RVO:
- central RVO 鈥� a blockage of the main retinal vein
- branch RVO 鈥� the more common type of RVO, a blockage of one of the smaller branch veins
This condition tends to affect people over the age of 60, although younger people can be impacted by RVO as well. It is the second most common disorder which affects the retina (the first is diabetes-related retinopathy).
Retinal vein occlusion symptoms
RVO usually affects only one eye but will possibly reoccur or affect the other eye in approximately 7% of cases
Symptoms may start suddenly or develop gradually over a few hours or days and include:
- blurred vision in part of or all of your eye
- missing vision in part of or all of your eye
- floaters (dark spots or lines floating in your vision)
What causes retinal vein occlusion?
RVO is usually caused by a blood clot which blocks the retinal vein and obstructs blood flow. However, the underlying cause of the blood clot often remains unknown.
There are some risk factors that increase the chance of RVO occurring, including:
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- diabetes
- glaucoma
- smoking
- ageing
Ageing or plaque build-up may cause your retinal artery to compress your retinal vein and create the conditions for a blood clot.
However, in younger people, there may be another underlying cause for a thickening of the blood which has contributed to the blockage (for example, inflammation or a blood disorder such as polycythaemia).
Retinal vein occlusion diagnosis
To diagnose RVO, your ophthalmologist will first discuss your medical history and symptoms.
They will then conduct a comprehensive eye exam with a tool called a slit lamp. This shines a bright light into your eye so that your doctor can see into and through all the layers of your eye.
To make this process easier, they may dilate (widen) your pupils (the dark spot in your eyes). If you have your pupils dilated, your vision will become blurred. You should not drive after dilatation for a few hours so you should make sure you have someone to drive you home after your assessment.
Your doctor may also recommend one or more of the following imaging techniques:
- optical coherence tomography 鈥� this uses light waves to create a cross-sectional map of your retina to help your doctor diagnose and monitor the severity of your eye condition
- fluorescein angiography 鈥� during this procedure, a dye is injected into your arm. The dye travels around your blood system until it reaches the blood vessels in your eye. A trained photographer will use a special camera to take pictures of your retina. The dye will help to highlight your blood vessels, locate the blockage
The purpose of combining these techniques is to gain a full picture of your eye鈥檚 health and assess the type of RVO you have as well as the extent of the blockage in your retinal vein.
Wondering if you might have an RVO? Book an appointment today with one of the specialists at AOA体育平台 Eye Centre.
* We offer fast appointments Monday - Friday only.
Retinal vein occlusion treatments
There is currently no treatment to unblock a retinal vein and cure RVO. As a result, the goal of treating RVO is to prevent your vision from getting worse as well as to identify and manage any risk factors which may exacerbate the issue.
To achieve this, your consultant may recommend one or more of the following treatment options:
- intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 鈥� there are different types of anti-VEGF that can be injected into your eye to reduce the build-up of fluid and ease swelling. You will need to have these injections periodically, as the effects wear off over time
- intravitreal injections of steroids 鈥� similar to the anti-VEGFS, these are also injected into your vitreous to treat the swelling. They are potentially longer lasting but have slightly more side effects and are primarily used if the anti-VEGFs fail to work.
- laser surgery 鈥� during laser treatment, the laser treats the area of leak or parts of the retina that no longer have good blood supply, to prevent further leak and bleeding and causing further vision loss
- lifestyle changes 鈥� if your RVO is likely to have been caused by an underlying condition, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, or a lifestyle choice, such as smoking, your doctor may recommend making changes to protect your eye health and prevent future RVO from occurring. This includes stopping smoking and implementing dietary changes to keep your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels under control
- medications 鈥� in addition, to help manage contributing factors, your doctor may prescribe medications which are designed to lower your blood pressure and control your cholesterol levels