Diabetic eye disease treatment
Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema are common eye problems associated with diabetes and can be treated either with lasers or injections.
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What is it for?
Treatment for diabetes
Treatment overview
If you develop the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, the most helpful treatment is to get your diabetes under tighter control, rather than to treat your eyes directly.
It will also help if you control your blood pressure and your blood cholesterol, and your GP can help you do this through lifestyle changes, or through drug therapy as necessary.
It is important, however, to have your eyes regularly monitored for signs of changes.
If abnormal blood vessels start to develop in the retina, or there is a risk of bleeding, you may then need laser treatment or injections.
Laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy
The London Clinic eye centre provides laser treatment, which shrinks the new, fragile blood vessels that develop as a result of diabetic retinopathy.
Focal laser therapy can be used to reduce diabetic macular oedema. This involves making fewer laser lesions, concentrated into the area of the retina just around the macula.
Laser treatment is able to prevent loss of vision effectively, but it does not usually reverse it; intravitreal injections are usually required to achieve this.
Intravitreal injections for diabetic eye disease
- Lucentis®, an anti-VEGF agent is available at The London Clinic eye centre to treat people experiencing visual loss due to diabetic macular oedema (DME).
- Avastin® is currently used off-label for patients with diabetic eye disease, and recent trial results published in the early summer of 2011 have provided good evidence that Avastin® is comparable with Lucentis®.
Vitrectomy surgery and diabetic eye disease
If you have proliferative diabetic retinopathy and there has been significant bleeding at the back of your eye, it may be necessary to remove the vitreous fluid from inside your eye, together with deposits of blood.
Removing this fluid and blood will result in clearer vision, but this surgery will not make any difference to the status of your retina.
Why choose The London Clinic
Excellence in one place
We operate as teams of experts with world-class resources dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of medical care. You are surrounded by the latest treatments and advice with everything you need to get back to your best health.
Personal care, every time
Exceptional patient care is a way of life for us. Our nurses, clinicians and support teams are dedicated to the care of a very small number of patients, so have more time for you. They’ll be with you every step of the way, tailoring your care around you and giving the peace-of-mind that comes with knowing you’re in the best hands.
Effortlessly simple
We work together as one to guide you through each step of your experience, with complexities unravelled and answers readily to hand. Your personal treatment plan will be laid out for you, with all the details taken care of so you can focus on you.
What's included in your package?
Choosing The London Clinic means your treatment plan will be laid out for you, with all the details taken care of so you can focus on you.
Your treatment package will include:
- Enhanced pre-admission assessment
- Your treatment with our complete care team at your fingertips
- Personalised aftercare and follow-up
We want you to be in control of your health. That’s why we also offer optional services such as comprehensive recovery packages and extra touches for you to choose from during your stay with us.
How to pay
- You can use private medical insurance (PMI) to access this treatment. We work with all major PMI providers in the UK and many internationally
- You can pay for yourself (self-pay)
- If you’re paying for yourself, we have finance options available with Chrysalis