Laser eye treatment for the retina
Why do I need a laser?
Your doctor may recommend laser treatment due to bleeding and/or swelling of your retina from diabetes, hypertension, or some other blood vessel disease. This laser is usually to prevent further damage to your eye and can sometimes improve your vision. The blood which is in your eye will still take time to break down and disappear.
If you have a tear or hole on your retina, laser will prevent further damage. The laser will seal off the edges of the tear. If a tear or hole goes unrepaired, a retinal detachment may occur, which then needs a complex surgery to repair and can cause permenant visual loss.
Prior to Procedure
There are no restrictions to activity. Your eyes will need to be dilated, so you will need to have a driver to return home afterwards.
During the procedure
A numbing drop will be placed in your eye. A contact lens will gel on it will be placed on your eye as well. The light source for the laser is very bright, most people say that is the worst part. The laser feels like a pinch or a snap like a rubber band according to many. If the pain is too intense, tell Dr. Velotta. Most procedures take 20 minutes or less to perform.
After the procedure
You vision will be very blurry immediately after the laser due to the gel on the contact and also the bright light. This resolves in 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then your vision should return to what it was prior to laser. For diabetics, vision improvement may take 1 month or longer depending on the severity of disease.
There are no restrictions of activity after laser.
More about the history of Lasers:
www.e-mjm.org/2010/v65n1/Retinal_Laser_Photocoagulation.pdf
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