Diabetic macular oedema 22/03/2013

What is macular oedema? 

Macular oedema is the inflammation and accumulation of fluid in the macula, the part of the eye responsible for central and pinpoint vision (the one we use to read or recognise faces) and occurs when the retina's blood vessels leak.

The most frequent form of macular oedema is associated with diabetic retinopathy, although there are many retinal pathologies that can cause macular oedema, such as vein blockage or after cataract surgery.

Main causes 

The main reason for macular oedema appearing is associated with diabetes. This illness makes the retina's blood vessels lose fluid, including small amounts of blood and, occasionally, fat deposits leak out, leading to inflammation of the macula.

Symptoms 

Macular oedema is usually painless and may have few symptoms at the beginning, mainly blurred, faded vision, but it is important to treat it in good time to avoid irreversible degenerative changes.

How is it treated?

There are many possible treatments, such as collyria, intravitreal and periocular injections, laser photocoagulation, MicroPulse laser or keyhole surgery via posterior vitrectomy, which will be applied depending on the severity of each case.

State of the art technology at the disposal of our patients

In its mission to offer its patients the best and most innovative treatments, the Institut de la Màcula has state of the art technology to detect and monitor the progression and response to treatment in the cases of diabetic macular oedema. The Institut uses cutting edge MicroPulse technology, an excellent application in some cases of diabetic macular oedema. This technology is very low-level laser therapy with a short, repetitive pulse rate lasting just millionths of a second, that results in a safe, effective method to treat diabetic macular oedema, avoiding or delaying in some cases the use of intravitreal injections.