Many of the diseases we see at The Retina Center involve the development of blood vessel abnormalities like the growth of new vessels or abnormal flow through the existing vessels. Those two broad categories (new vessel growth and abnormal flow) generally include disorders like age related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal vein occlusions.
These diseases used to only be treatable with the laser, if they were treatable at all. Although the laser still plays a role in the management of most of those conditions, we now frequently initiate treatment of them with injections of medication directly into the eye. This is done right in all of the offices of The Retina Center. Some of the medications used have been developed for other diseases and then adapted for ocular use, and some have been developed just for the treatment of retinal vascular diseases. These medications, for example, include Avastin, Lucentis, and Triamcinolone. There are new medications being evaluated in research all the time. Careful consideration is given to changing the regimen when new medications are released for treatment of retinal disease.
Other diseases require more specific intervention targeted at repair of certain conditions like retinal tears, retinal detachments, bleeding into the vitreous gel, or scar tissue forming on the surface of the retina (preretinal membrane formation). The disorders like retinal tears, and most of the retinal detachments need mechanical intervention which often are done in the office as well. Problems like preretinal membrane formation or vitreous hemorrhage require vitrectomy surgery, and some of the more complex retinal detachments need scleral buckling or vitrectomy as well. These procedures are done in the operating room at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, usually on an outpatient basis where the patients go home on the same day as the surgery, and see the doctor in the office on the following day.
Many of these specific disorders and treatments are discussed in educational videos within this website.