Retinal Disorders Specialist

What are the common retinal disorders?

Your retina is a multi-layered membrane at the back of your eye. One of its layers contains photoreceptors. These cells convert the light that enters your eye into chemical and nerve signals that travel through your optic nerve to your brain, allowing you to interpret what you’re viewing.

However, your retina is vulnerable to a wide range of diseases that can cause permanent vision damage. For example, some of the most common retinal disorders include:

• Retinal tears
• Retinal detachment
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Epiretinal membrane
• Macular hole
• Macular degeneration
• Retinitis pigmentosa 

Many of these retinal diseases cause similar symptoms such as floaters and distorted or wavy vision. You may also notice defects in either your side or central vision. Eventually, these conditions can lead to permanent vision loss. 

What causes retinal disorders?

Many factors contribute to retinal disorders. For example, too much fluid in your eye can cause retinal tears or detachment, while macular degeneration is age-related and primarily genetic. 

Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that develops when uncontrolled glucose levels cause abnormal blood vessels to grow in or near the back of your eye and leak blood and other fluid that damage your retina. 

You can also develop a retina disorder after an eye injury or as a side effect of other health conditions such as high blood pressure or kidney disease.

How are retinal disorders treated?

The first step in treating a retina disorder is identifying the specific condition. Many retina diseases don’t cause symptoms in their early stages, and an ophthalmologist at Retina Specialists finds signs of retinal disease during a routine comprehensive eye exam. 

When your ophthalmologist has a full diagnosis of your condition, they provide a customized treatment plan based on your condition, symptoms, and eye health. 

Depending on your condition, you may need laser treatments to repair the retina or get rid of abnormal blood vessels. Your ophthalmologist may also provide intraocular injections to deliver medicine directly to your retina.

Alternatively, your ophthalmologist may perform a vitrectomy to remove damaged vitreous humor gel or access your retina. They could inject a gas bubble into your eye or perform a minimally invasive surgery such as scleral buckling to repair a retinal detachment. 

If you’re due for a comprehensive eye exam or have noticed signs of retinal disorders such as an increased volume of floaters in your vision, call Retina Specialists or make an appointment online today.