Medical and surgical retina service
AOA体育平台 Eye Centre鈥檚 medical and surgical retina service features first-class consultants, nurses and state-of-the-art diagnostic and surgical techniques for treating conditions that affect the retina.
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What is it for?
To help diagnose, monitor and treat conditions that affect the retina
What can be diagnosed with this service?
AOA体育平台 Eye Centre鈥檚 medical and surgical retina service focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of:
- Age-related macular degeneration 鈥� A condition where the centre of your retina, called the macula, starts to show signs of ageing, causing your central vision to become distorted and blurred.
- Diabetic retinopathy 鈥� If you have diabetes, high blood sugar can cause the blood vessels at the back of your eye to deteriorate and leak fluid into and under the retina, leading to blurred or distorted vision.
- Epiretinal membrane 鈥� If a thin layer of scar tissue develops over the macula and stops growing, it can start to shrink, causing your vision to become distorted and blurred.
- Macular hole 鈥� A condition where a small hole develops in your macula, at the centre of your retina. Since the macula is responsible for central vision, this can cause distortion and a blind spot in the centre of your vision.
- Retinal detachment 鈥� An emergency condition that occurs when your retina detaches from the tissues that support it, causing sudden changes in vision, such as flashing lights, floaters, and a dark shadow.
- Retinal vein occlusion 鈥� A blockage of a retinal vein that can prevent blood from leaving the retina, resulting in increased pressure and swelling, blurred vision, floaters, and missing vision.
- Retinitis pigmentosa 鈥� A genetic eye condition that causes the retina to slowly break down over time, leading to a loss of night vision, side vision, colour vision, and increased sensitivity to bright light.
- Vitreomacular traction 鈥� A condition where the vitreous (the clear, gel-like substance in the centre of your eye) shrinks and pulls on the retina, leading to distorted vision and making objects appear smaller than they are.
- Posterior vitreous detachment 鈥� A condition where the peripheral vitreous gel separates from the retina. It can cause flashing lights and floaters in the vision of one eye, and if the separation is forceful, it can lead to retinal breaks and detachments.
We offer the latest treatments for retinal conditions, including:
Eye injections (also known as intravitreal injections) can be used to administer medicines that treat retinal conditions.
If you have eye injections, your eye is numbed first so that you will not feel pain during the injection. A very fine needle is then passed into the vitreous cavity of the eye. This is the back part of the eye that is filled with a gel known as the vitreous.
Eye injections are usually given as a course of treatments that occur once a month for a minimum of three or four months. However, depending on your response to the treatment, you may continue to receive these injections for many months.
There are also some conditions that only require a single injection, while the treatment for others involves regular injections every few months.
Laser treatment involves passing a beam of light through your pupil, where it is used to treat certain areas of the back of your eye, depending on the condition you have.
In the medical and surgical retina service, we typically use laser treatment to:
- treat a retinal tear and reduce the risk of a retinal detachment by creating small scars to fix the tear and help hold the retina in place
- manage or reduce the risk of abnormal new blood vessels developing by creating small burns on the retina and reducing its oxygen demand
- reduce a build-up of fluid in the eye or treat fluid leakage in the macula by causing the retina to dry out
Most laser treatments are performed in our outpatient clinic, using just local anaesthetic drops to numb the eye. This means that laser treatment usually takes less than an hour, and you can go home the same day.
A vitrectomy is a surgical procedure carried out inside the eye. It can be used to treat a range of conditions, including retinal detachment, macular holes, epiretinal membrane and the advanced complications of diabetic eye disease.
The procedure involves making three small keyhole cuts in the white of the eye to provide access to the inside of the eye. The vitreous gel in the back half of the eye is then removed.
Your eye does not replace or regrow the vitreous gel. Instead, at the end of the operation, it is replaced with a balanced salt solution, gas bubble or oil bubble, depending on your condition and its severity. The eye continues to produce fluid to replenish the volume.
Comprehensive Eye Examination
To diagnose a retinal condition, your consultant will conduct a thorough eye examination, checking for any irregularities within your eye. This may involve a variety of diagnostic tests.
Diagnostic Testing
Your examination may include several advanced tests, such as the Amsler grid to detect retinal damage, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for detailed retinal mapping, and fundus autofluorescence to highlight changes in the retina. Other imaging options include Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA) and Indocyanine Green (ICG) Angiography, which use dye to illuminate retinal blood vessels, and ultrasound, which provides detailed scanning after numbing the eye.
Review and Next Steps
Most diagnostic tests are completed in a single appointment. Once finished, your consultant will review your results, explain any images, and discuss whether you have a retinal condition鈥攐ften within the same day. They will then recommend a tailored treatment plan based on the diagnosis and the condition鈥檚 severity. For urgent conditions like retinal detachment, treatment may begin immediately, while other conditions may involve a planned course of action.
Why choose AOA体育平台 Eye Centre?
Unparalleled, outstanding eye care
AOA体育平台 Eye Centre provides the highest standards of eye care. Our team of expert ophthalmologists work in partnership with world leaders and experts from all aspects of medicine, combining state-of-the-art diagnostics with cutting-edge therapies to deliver a best-in-class service to a global audience.
Personal care, every time
Exceptional patient care is a way of life for us. Our clinicians, nurses and support teams are dedicated to providing bespoke care, centred around our patients. They鈥檒l be with you every step of the way, tailoring your care around you and giving you the peace of mind that comes with knowing you鈥檙e in the best hands.
Effortlessly simple
Our Eye Centre simplifies your path to eye health. We work together as one to guide you through each step of your experience, with complexities unravelled and answers readily to hand. Your personal treatment plan will be laid out for you, with all the details taken care of so you can focus on yourself.
What's included in your package?
Choosing AOA体育平台 Eye Centre means your treatment plan will be laid out for you, with all the details taken care of so that you can focus on you.
Your treatment package will include:
- your pre-admission assessment
- your treatment, with our care team at your fingertips
- personalised aftercare and follow-up
We want you to be in control of your health. That is why we also offer optional services, such as comprehensive recovery packages and extra touches for you to choose from during your stay with us.
Get in touch
You can use private medical insurance (PMI) to access this treatment. We work with all major PMI providers in the UK and many internationally.
Alternatively, you can pay for yourself (self-pay). If you are paying for yourself, we have finance options available with .
Find out more about paying for your treatment here.
To book an appointment, call us today on: 0203 553 3670
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
The length of time it takes to get your results depends on the type of tests and imaging techniques you undergo.
For example, an Amsler grid test will provide results after the test is complete. Other types of retinal imaging take around 10 minutes to perform, and FA can take up to 30 minutes.
Once your consultant has your images and has interpreted them, they will be able to explain the results to you.
Most retinal imaging techniques are extremely safe and have no known risks.
FA and ICG angiography are also low risk, but the dyes they use can cause side effects, such as temporary skin discolouration (a slight yellow tint) or urine that appears dark yellow to orange. Typically, these effects go away within 24 hours.
The dye used in FA can cause an allergic reaction 鈥� however, this is rare. The risk of anaphylaxis is also extremely small. A reaction to the dye used in retinal imaging techniques might cause symptoms such as hives, itching, dizziness, a dry mouth, a metallic taste in your mouth, an increased heart rate, nausea or vomiting and sneezing.
To make a diagnosis of a retinal condition, our consultants will perform a thorough eye examination to look for irregularities within your eye.
This may include any combination of the following diagnostic tests:
- Amsler grid test 鈥� A checkerboard grid made of black lines on a white background. You will be asked whether the lines of the grid appear wavy, broken, or distorted to assess whether there has been any damage to your retina.
- Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) 鈥� A non-invasive imaging technique that can create a detailed map of your retina.
- Fundus autofluorescence 鈥� Another non-invasive imaging technique that uses naturally occurring fluorescence from the retina to highlight a retinal pigment that increases when there are changes to your retina.
- Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA) 鈥� An imaging test that involves a dye injection in your arm. Once the dye reaches the blood vessels in your retina, pictures are taken to identify if your blood vessels are blocked, leaking, or irregular.
- Indocyanine Green (ICG) Angiography 鈥� A similar test to FFA, which uses a dye that lights up when exposed to infrared light to highlight the deep, hard-to-see blood vessels behind the retina.
- Ultrasound 鈥� After your eyes have been numbed, an ultrasound technician will place an instrument against the eyelid of your eye to scan.
Most diagnostic tests can be completed in a single appointment, although some may take longer depending on the type of diagnosis.
Once these tests have been carried out, your consultant will talk you through your results. They鈥檒l show you any of the images that were taken and describe them to you, and explain whether they鈥檙e going to diagnose you with a retinal condition 鈥� usually all within a day.
They will then advise you as to which treatment option(s) they recommend based on which condition you have been diagnosed with and how advanced or severe it is.
For some conditions, such as retinal detachment, this may mean starting treatment immediately. For others, your consultant will put an appropriate plan in place and advise you as to what needs to happen next.
You can use private medical insurance (PMI) to access this diagnostic. We work with all major PMI providers in the UK and many internationally.
Alternatively, you can pay for yourself (self-pay). If you are paying for yourself, we have finance options available with .
Find out more about paying for your diagnostics and treatments here.
To book an appointment, call us today on: 0203 553 3670