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Treating Diabetic Retinopathy
It is of fundamental importance that diabetic patients must have
regulated their blood sugar levels satisfactory, as well as other
predisposing factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol
levels. Smokers must be encouraged to stop smoking.
If diabetic retinopathy is diagnosed at an early stage, and treatment
is given imminently, the patient may elude the danger and preserve
vision.
If diabetes is not controlled, and the patient is left and without
medication in the crucial initial 2-3 years, the results from the
transition to proliferative diabetic retinopathy is dramatic and will
affect the rest of his life.
Athens Eye Hospital has a special Diabetic Department
available for the care and treatment of diabetic patients, by
specialist diabetologists.
B – Scan Ultrasound
In the presence of a significant hemorrhage in the vitreous cavity of
the eye, not only vision is obstructed, but also the ophthalmologist
is unable to examine directly the fundus behind the blood. The same
applies for other diagnostic tests which rely on light emitted from
the instrument entering the eye, such as the OCT and fluorescein
angiography.
In these cases, significant help can be provided by the B-Scan
Ultrasound.
This is also a simple and painless examination which is performed
with the patients’ eyes closed and the use of a probe, touching only
the closed upper eyelid of the patient.
