Retinal Vascular Diseases
What Is Retinal Vascular Disease?
The eye is like a camera. The lens at the front of your eye focuses light onto your retina, the thin nerve layer at the back of the eye that transmits images via the optic nerve to your brain.
The retinal vascular system is composed of arteries, veins and capillaries. The blood vessels that provide blood to and nourish the retina are the central retinal artery and the branch retinal arteries. The central retinal vein and branch retinal veins remove blood and waste products from the retina. The capillaries are thin, fragile vessels embedded in tissue that connect the arteries and veins.
A blockage or occlusion in any part of the retinal vascular system can threaten your vision. These include:
- Central Retinal Artery Occlusion (CRAO)
- Branch Retinal Artery Occlusion (BRAO)
- Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO)
- Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO)
Click on the link above to learn more about these retinal vascular diseases.
Treatment of Retinal Vascular Diseases
Our highly skilled ophthalmologist, who specializes in treating retinal eye disease, gives therapeutic injections of Avastin, Lucentis, Eylea, Ozurdex and triamcinolone acetonide (steroid) to reduce macular edema, swelling in the eye associated with BRVO and CRVO. He also utilizes focal laser treatment and / or laser photocoagulation to treat macular edema and neovascularization that are also associated with retinal vascular disease. Surgical options such as radial optic neurotomy and AV sheathotomy may be recommended in certain circumstances.
Laser treatments are available in all five of our offices. Therapeutic injections are performed in our Plymouth location. Surgical treatments take place at our conveniently located affiliated surgery centers, including The Greater New Bedford Surgicenter and Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary.
Select from the following options to learn more about treatment of retinal vascular diseases:
Retina Specialists at Kadrmas Eye Care New England
Meet our ophthalmologists who specialize in the treatment of retinal vascular disease: