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Macular oedema occurs when fluid accumulates in the macula, leading to swelling. The swelling may affect vision, making objects appear blurred, wavy and colours appear faded. If untreated, macular oedema can cause permanent reduced or loss of vision.
Macular oedema results from pockets of fluid in the macula. The fluid usually comes from leakage in damaged blood vessels.
Different conditions can cause fluid leakage into the retina, causing macular oedema. These conditions include:
People with diabetes have a high risk of high blood sugar damaging retinal blood vessels that leak into the macula.
In AMD, abnormal blood vessels develop, which leak blood and other fluid into the retina and cause swelling in the macula.
Partial vitreous detachment in an ageing eye may tug in the macular tissue or form scar tissues, including pockets of fluid under it.
RVO is a blood vessel disease where the retinal veins become blocked, causing blood and fluid to leak into the macula.
These include retinitis pigmentosa or retinoschisis.
These include conditions such as uveitis. In this condition, the body attacks tissues, damaging retinal blood vessels, leading to macular swelling.
Certain medications have side effects that may cause macular oedema.
Both malignant and benign eye tumours can cause retina and macular oedema.
Patients may get macular oedema in rare cases after retinal, cataract, or glaucoma surgery.
Trauma to the eye may cause macular oedema.
Swelling in the macula is usually painless and causes no symptoms in the early stages. When symptoms are present, they indicate leakage in blood vessels.
Common macular oedema symptoms include:
If you experience symptoms of macular oedema, visit your ophthalmologist as soon as you can. Untreated macular oedema may lead to severe vision loss or blindness,
Your eye surgeon(ophthalmologist )will carry out an eye exam. They will put dilating eye drops during the exam to widen the pupil for a clearer view of the retina inside the eye. The ophthalmologist may also perform other tests for a more detailed retina exam.
These tests include:
OCT helps the doctor to examine the retina closely. This machine scans all layers of retina, providing detailed images to determine its thickness, which helps the doctor check for leakages and measure macular swelling.
The doctor will inject a yellow dye, known as fluorescein, into the vein through the arm. The dye will travel through your blood vessels. The doctor will use a special camera to take photos of the retina as the dye travels in the blood vessels. The dye shows the bleeding blood vessels and the amount of leakage. Modern version of OCT called OCT Angiogram can show blood vessels without dye available at Optimal Vision .
The suitable treatment will require treating the underlying cause of macular oedema, retinal swelling, and leakage.
Possible treatments include:
These medications are known as anti-VEGF. This treatment helps to reduce the new, abnormal retinal blood vessels and the leakage from blood vessels. The eye doctor will inject the medication into the eye with a small needle which is done under local anaesthesia with minimal discomfort.
When inflammation causes macular oedema, the doctor may administer steroid medication. The medication may be in the form of injections, pills, or eye drops.
The doctor may prescribe non-steroidal or steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) eye drops when cystoid macular oedema occurs after cataract surgery. You will use the eye drops for a couple of months.
If indicated the surgeon will apply several small laser pulses to the areas leaking fluid around the macula to seal the leak with laser treatment. This treatment aims to seal off leaking blood vessels and stabilise vision.
If macular oedema results from the vitreous(gel in the back of the eye) pulling on the macula, the surgeon will carry out vitrectomy surgery to restore the macular to its normal size and release the traction. This procedure involves using small instruments to remove the vitreous from the eyes and then peeling the scar tissues in the macula to relieve the traction damaging the macula.
Your treatment plan for macular oedema will depend on the condition's cause. It will take several months for the swelling to reduce in some cases. Ensure you follow your doctor's instructions for the treatment to be effective.
For a consultation to determine the cause of swelling in your macula, visit Optimal Vision. You can also contact us on 020 7183 3725 to schedule an appointment with our experienced ophthalmologist.
Dr Mani has performed more than 20,000 ophthalmic procedures, including LASIK, LASEK, PRK, Femto Cataract, RLE, Lens ICL and Phakic IOL Surgery
I had a great experience performing my laser eye surgery at Optimal Vision Clinic. All the staffs are very helpful, co-operative and supportive throughout the treatment process. On the first call, they explained the entire procedure in details and gave necessary instructions at every stage. My eye surgeon made me feel comfortable and relaxed before and during the procedure. Aftercare was done properly with a thorough check-up of my eyes. I would like to recommend this clinic to everyone!
Very happy and impressed with the highly professional care and service I’ve received at the Optimal Vision clinic. Dr Mani is so professional, and he explained everything about Laser surgery and answered all my questions. The surgery was quick and almost completely painless. My eyes have healed perfectly and quickly. I would highly recommend this clinic.
My husband had been experiencing discomfort in his left eye since July and was seen by various doctors/consultants even at the Queen Mary’s hospital but no abnormalities were found.
This week Dr. Mani discovered the fault which happened to be Retina detachment with three tears.
Dr. Mani’s preciseness and his perfectionist attitude to attention to details, detected the source of the main issue and saved my husband’s eye. We feel utterly grateful and can not recommend him enough for his excellence.
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