Macular Edema Specialist

What is macular edema?

Your macula is the part of your retina that helps you see faraway objects, color, and fine detail. With macular edema, fluid buildup in the macula causes it to swell and distort your vision. Without proper treatment, macular edema can even lead to vision loss.

What are the symptoms of macular edema?

In its early stage, macular edema is painless and doesn’t produce symptoms. If you do experience symptoms, it might mean blood vessels in your eyes are leaking. Symptoms can include:

• Difficulty reading
• Blurred central vision
• Wavy central vision
• Colors that appear washed out

See the experts at Retina Consultants Ltd. at the first signs of macular edema symptoms, and for routine eye exams to detect eye diseases before symptoms appear.

What are the risk factors for macular edema?

While anyone can develop macular edema, the following factors increase your risk:

• Diabetes
• Blood vessel diseases
• Older age
• Eye tumors
• Eye trauma or surgery
• Hereditary diseases
• Toxicity
• Inflammatory conditions
• Macular degeneration
• Some medications

Sometimes the cause of macular edema isn’t known. If you’re at risk of developing the condition, routine eye exams are important.

How is macular edema diagnosed?

To diagnose macular edema and other eye diseases, your retina specialist reviews your medical and vision history and asks questions about your symptoms. They complete a comprehensive eye exam, including dilating your eyes to get a good look at the backs of your eyes.

Your ophthalmologist might order vision and imaging tests to get a detailed look inside your eyes and make a final diagnosis.

How is macular edema treated?

Your personalized macular edema treatment plan is based on the severity of your condition and the underlying cause. It can include:

Treating underlying causes

Treating the underlying cause of macular edema, like inflammation and diabetes, can reduce symptoms and prevent or delay vision issues.

Injections

Eye injections treat abnormal retinal blood vessels to decrease leaking fluid and vision impairment.

Steroid treatment

Your retina specialist might recommend steroid medication in the form of pills, injections, or eye drops to reduce macular edema.

Eye drops

Nonsteroidal eye drops help reduce macular edema associated with eye surgery.

Laser treatment

During laser treatment, your ophthalmologist uses tiny laser pulses to seal off leaking blood vessels near the macula.

Surgery

A type of eye surgery called vitrectomy repairs damage to the macula and restores its normal structure.

To detect and treat macular edema before serious vision problems occur, schedule an eye exam with Retina Consultants Ltd. over the phone or online today.