Office-Based Retina Procedures

Intravitreal Injections

Intravitreal injections are a method of delivering drugs into the eye where they can act upon the retina. The eye is prepped with a local numbing agent and the injection is given into the eye with minimal discomfort to the patient.

Common medications delivered via intravitreal injection include anti-vegF medications (Avastin, Eylea, Lucentis) and steroids (Ozurdex, Triescence). These drugs can be used to treat a variety of ocular diseases including Age Related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, Vascular Occlusions and Retinal Edema.

Laser Photocoagulation

Laser photocoagulation is a procedure used to deliver focused laser energy to the back of the eye inducing a heat reaction which leads to a localized controlled burn to the retina.

Laser photocoagulation can be used to treat Diabetic Retinopathy and Vascular Occlusions by sealing leaking blood vessels or regressing abnormal blood vessel growth, which can help reduce the risk of vision loss in those patients.

This treatment can also be used to treat areas of the retina that are thinned or torn thereby reducing the risk of progression to retinal detachment as well as to seal leakage points in conditions like Central Serous Retinopathy.

Pneumatic Retinopexy for Retinal Detachment

Pneumatic retinopexy is a method of repairing retinal detachment without the need for surgery. Retinal detachments occur when the vitreous or gel inside the eye separates away from the retina and creates a tear. The fluid within the eye then passes through the tear and under the retina leading to the detachment.

With a pneumatic retinopexy procedure, cryotherapy or freezing treatment is used to seal the retinal tear and then a small gas bubble is injected into the eye, which pushes the fluid out of the retina and flattens the tear. Over time the gas bubble dissolves from the eye leaving the retina attached.

Surgical Procedures

Pars Plana Vitrectomy

Vitrectomy surgery is utilized to treat a number of different retinal problems including retinal detachments, macular holes, epiretinal membranes/macular puckers, floaters, and bleeding inside the eye.

The procedure is typically performed in an outpatient setting (patients go home the same day) and under a local anesthetic (only the eye is numbed). After the eye has been prepped, three small holes are created in the sclera or white part of the eye each about the size of a needle. Under a surgical microscope using a variety of specialized instrumentation, the surgery is carried out.

The incisions created are generally small enough that sutures are not necessary. The vitreous is usually replaced with a saline solution that is then turned over and replaced by the eye’s natural fluid over time. The eye is patched over night and the office staff removes the patch the next day.

Patients are placed on eye drops for a few weeks to aid in recovery. The total length of the recovery period depends on the underlying condition being treated and can range from days to months.

Macular Degeration

Macular degeneration is an age-related eye disease affecting patients in their senior years. The Nashville retina eye doctors at Loden Vision will diagnose, treat, and manage your macular degeneration case on an individual basis using the latest state-of-the-art technology and medications.