Do you need a retinal procedure?
Whether you need intravitreal injections, fluorescein angiography, or retinal laser treatment, your vision is in the hands of the world-class retina experts at Georgia Retina, ensuring you’ll receive the highest level of retina care.
What is the Retina?
The retina is a thin layer of nerve tissue lining the back of your eye. It has cells that can detect light and send images to the brain.
These images help you see and interact with the world. Having a healthy retina is crucial for optimal vision.
However, you may require retinal procedures to help keep your retina healthy. Retinal procedures offered at Georgia Retina include:
Intravitreal Injections
Intravitreal injections are injections used to inject medication into the vitreous. The vitreous is the jelly-like substance inside your eye that helps the eye stay round.
It also allows light to pass through to the retina. Common intravitreal injections you may receive include steroids, which can help reduce inflammation, and anti-VEGF injections to stop the growth of abnormal blood vessels in conditions like diabetic retinopathy.
Receiving intravitreal injections takes a few minutes. First, your retina specialist at Georgia Retina will apply numbing medication to your eye.
Then, they will use a thin needle and inject the medication into the vitreous behind the lens of your eye. After receiving intravitreal injections, your retina specialist may prescribe antibiotic eye drops.
Intravitreal injections are performed in-office at Georgia Retina. These injections do not require any recovery time.
You may receive intravitreal injections to treat conditions like uveitis, diabetic retinopathy, wet macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, and various other retinal conditions.
Retinal Lasers
Your retina specialist at Georgia Retina may recommend laser therapy to treat certain retina conditions. Laser therapy uses targeted beams of light to seal abnormal blood vessels in the retina and slow down the growth of new ones.
There are several approaches for retinal lasers, including:
Panretinal Photocoagulation (PRP)
Panretinal photocoagulation treats proliferative diabetic retinopathy by shrinking unnecessary abnormal blood vessels supplied to the retina. This laser therapy uses high-energy laser light to create small burns that close off these vessels.
Panretinal photocoagulation is usually done over several in-office visits in sections for the best results.
Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy uses a medication called verteporfin. Verteporfin accumulates in abnormal blood vessels and is injected into the bloodstream, where it travels to the abnormal blood vessels, causing damage to vision.
These laser treatments use precisely aimed light pulses that enter the eye. Each pulse is a fraction of a second and may cause blurry vision briefly.
After these procedures, you may notice tiny floaters due to the laser burns created. Vision usually improves about 3-6 weeks after these retinal laser procedures.
Focal Laser Photocoagulation
Patients with retinal swelling may undergo focal laser photocoagulation. Focal laser photocoagulation uses precise and accurate laser technology to seal blood vessels, causing macular edema fluid leakage.
Fluorescein Angiography
Fluorescein angiography uses a special camera and fluorescent dye to take detailed pictures of the blood vessels inside the retina. Fluorescein dye will be injected into a vein in your arm.
The dye will travel to blood vessels in the retina while taking rapid pictures. While doing this, it may capture images of things like leakage, vessel blockages, or swelling. Fluorescein angiography is a diagnostic tool your Georgia Retina specialist can use to determine the best treatment.
