Retinal Care
Protect Your Eyesight and Eye Health with Expert Retinal Care in South Texas
At the back of the human eye is light-sensitive tissue, called the retina, onto which light is focused as it passes through the cornea and lens. If the eye were a camera, the retina would function as the film. As light strikes the retina, chemical and electrical events trigger nerve impulses that are delivered to the brain via the optic nerve. In the center of the retina is a small area, known as the macula, that’s dense with light-sensitive structures and is responsible for clear, sharp, high-acuity eyesight.
Avoid partial or total vision loss with our subspecialized retina care
Essentially, your ability to see is dependent on the retina, including the macula. And while other problems certainly can impair or rob you of your eyesight, retinal problems can cause partial or total vision loss easily and swiftly.
At Medical Center Ophthalmology Associates, our board-certified and experienced ophthalmologists provide the informed, skilled, state-of-the-art care you depend on to manage, slow, stop and repair retina problems, from disease to injury. Our team of eye doctors includes retinal subspecialists, fellowship-trained to deliver leading-edge diagnosis and treatment of retina problems that include:
- Diabetic eye disease – To put it simply, diabetes is a risk to your vision. While it can also increase your risk of developing cataracts or glaucoma, diabetes is mainly a threat to your retina. The leading cause of blindness and vision loss in working-age adults is diabetic retinopathy. The result of diabetic retinopathy, another disease called macular edema can cause vision loss as the macula swells.
- Macular degeneration – As we age, we experience physiological changes, including those that make structures in the eye less able to react to changes in the visual environment. When this happens to the macula, it can slowly degenerate, along with our sharp central vision. Unfortunately, many people only notice this loss of vision in the advanced stage of the disease.
- Retinal vascular occlusion – Like all organs, our eyes get their oxygen and nutrients from our blood via the arteries. Also, the veins remove the retina’s waste product through the blood. If and when these blood vessels become occluded (blocked), fluid buildup can occur, which causes vision loss.
- Retinal tears, holes and scar tissue – If holes or tears develop in the retina, fluid can seep through, get behind the retina, and cause the retina to begin peeling away (detaching). Tears in the retina can also cause one or more blood vessels to rupture and leak blood into the eye’s vitreous fluid. Scar tissue can also affect the retina’s light-sensitive structures, causing vision loss.
- Retinal detachment – When the retina detaches from the back of the eye, prompt emergency treatment is necessary to avoid permanent vision loss. In too many cases, retinal detachment is the direct result of retinal diseases. With routine medical management of these diseases, retinal detachment is often avoidable.
Trust specialized, state-of-the-art retinal expertise and care
Here at MCOA, retina specialists Darren J. Bell, M.D. and Michael A. Singer, M.D. provide today’s highest standard of care for detection, diagnosis, treatment, management and repair of retinal problems.
We use a wide array of advanced diagnostic tools and tests — including digital fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography and others — to understand your retina issue. With advanced methods and medicines, we can precisely repair retinal tears, manage disease progression, control abnormal vascular growth and much more.
Watch for symptoms, and act fast when you experience them
You may be experiencing a retinal problem if you notice a sudden increase in the size or number of “floaters” that you see. Shadows in your peripheral vision and sudden flashes in your field of vision could mean you’re experiencing a retinal detachment. If so, get to an emergency room immediately.
But the best care for retinal problems is a retinal exam, because it’s essential to detect, diagnose and treat the problem as quickly as possible. If we find a problem, we intervene quickly and appropriately using the best that modern eyecare has to offer.
