Diabetic eye disease treatments
Being diagnosed with diabetic eye disease can be worrying, but at AOA体育平台 Eye Centre, we鈥檙e here to help. Our expert team of ophthalmologists work in partnership with a wider support team to deliver unparalleled eye care tailored to your needs.
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What is it for?
To treat the side effects of diabetes on your vision
Overview: diabetic eye disease treatments
Diabetes affects your eyes when your blood glucose levels, or blood sugar, have been too high. This can cause damage to the fine blood vessels in the retina 鈥� the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye that converts light into electrical signals, to create the images which you see. A number of eye conditions may be caused by diabetes, which we collectively call 鈥榙iabetic eye disease鈥�.
In particular, diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema have been found to be prevalent in 33% and 7% of people with diabetes, respectively.
In the early stages of diabetic eye disease, the most helpful treatment is to regulate your blood sugar levels by getting your diabetes under tighter control, alongside improving general medical health, including blood pressure and cholesterol.
However, if your condition advances, causing leakage at the central area (the macula), abnormal blood vessel growth or bleeding, you may need laser treatment, injections, or even surgery.
Pan-retinal laser treatment works by stabilising and reducing the new, fragile blood vessels that develop as a result of diabetic retinopathy. However, while laser treatment can prevent further loss of vision, it does not usually reverse the established damage.
Focal laser therapy can be used to reduce diabetic macular oedema. This involves placing mild and gentle laser treatment to help reduce the leakage at the central macular area.
Recovery timeline and aftercare
Laser treatment is a quick, outpatient procedure and only takes between 10鈥�20 minutes.
Your vision will return to normal within one day of completing the treatment, but you will need somebody to drive you home afterwards.
Where laser treatment can prevent loss of vision, intravitreal injections can be used to potentially reverse any loss of vision due to diabetic macular oedema.
A number of different injection drugs are available. Your treating ophthalmologist will discuss the risks and benefits, according to your individual level of disease and other medical issues.
Recovery timeline and aftercare
Having an intravitreal injection is also a very quick process. The entire procedure only takes between 10鈥�15 minutes.
There are usually no restrictions following the injection, apart from avoiding potential infection risks.
A follow-up appointment with your consultant will be scheduled for a few weeks after your treatment, according to the nature of the disease process seen.
If cataracts co-exist with diabetic retinopathy, your consultant may recommend cataract surgery, usually after the retinal disease is treated and stable.
Cataract surgery involves the removal of the cloudy lens in your eye and replacing it with an artificial lens, known as an intraocular lens implant so that your vision becomes clearer.
You may be recommended vitrectomy (vitreo-retinal) surgery if your diabetic retinopathy progresses to a more aggressive or severe form, known as advanced diabetic retinopathy, which causes either significant bleeding at the back of your eye (vitreous haemorrhage), or scarring (tractional retinal detachment). This surgery aims to remove the vitreous gel and any deposits of blood from inside your eye or remove any scarring.
However, this procedure is usually reserved for more advanced cases. Your surgeon will discuss with you the risks and prognosis in detail.
Recovery timeline and aftercare
Cataract surgery is usually a quick and painless procedure. You should be able to go home on the same day you have the surgery. However, you will have a dressing over your eye which will need to be removed at home a day or two after your procedure.
Vitrectomy surgery can take approximately 1鈥�2 hours, depending on the type and complexity of the eye condition being treated.
In most cases, the surgery is a day-case procedure. This means that most patients can return home on the same day as the operation itself.
* We offer fast appointments Monday - Friday only.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
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