Diabetic retinopathyGold Coast & Tweed Heads

Dr Weaver checks and treats diabetic eye disease. Eye injections and laser are done at his rooms in Robina and Tweed Heads. When surgery is needed, he operates at Miami Private Hospital, Pacific Private Hospital and Tweed Day Surgery. Everyone with diabetes needs regular eye checks with drops to widen the pupil, even if their vision seems fine.

Diabetic retinopathy is damage to the small blood vessels in the retina, caused by high blood sugar over many years. About one in three people with diabetes has some degree of it. It is a leading cause of vision loss in people of working age.

The blood vessels become weak and leaky, and some become blocked. In advanced disease, new, abnormal blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. These can bleed and form scar tissue, and the scar tissue can pull the retina off (a tractional retinal detachment).

• Early to moderate disease (non-proliferative): small bulges and bleeds in the blood vessels. Vision is often normal unless the centre of the retina is affected.
• Swelling at the centre of the retina (diabetic macular oedema): fluid leaks into the macula and blurs central vision. It can happen at any stage and is the most common reason people with diabetes lose vision.
• Advanced disease (proliferative): new, fragile blood vessels grow on the retina or optic nerve. They can bleed into the eye and cause a retinal detachment.

• Early disease often has no symptoms. This is why regular checks matter.
• Blurred vision, or vision that changes from day to day
• Dark floaters or sudden loss of vision from bleeding in the eye
• Distorted central vision
• Colours look faded

Your general health comes first. Good control of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, and not smoking, all slow the damage. Your GP and diabetes team are key here.

Eye injections are the main treatment for swelling at the centre of the retina. They reduce the fluid and often improve vision, and are sometimes combined with laser. Injections are given in the rooms at Robina and Tweed Heads, with Medicare rebates for eligible patients.

Laser. For advanced disease, laser to the outer retina (panretinal photocoagulation) helps stop new vessels growing. A more targeted laser is sometimes used for swelling. Laser is done in the rooms.

Surgery (vitrectomy) is needed when bleeding does not clear, when scar tissue pulls the retina off, or for very advanced disease. Dr Weaver performs this at Miami Private Hospital, Tweed Day Surgery and Pacific Private Hospital.

• Diabetes but no eye damage: at least every two years under Australian guidelines. Yearly if you are at higher risk, for example if you have had diabetes a long time, your sugar or blood pressure is hard to control, or you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.
• When to start: type 2 diabetes, at diagnosis. Type 1 diabetes, from puberty or five years after diagnosis.
• If you already have eye damage: how often depends on how severe it is. Mild disease, yearly. Moderate to severe, every 3 to 6 months. Advanced disease, every 1 to 3 months.
• Pregnancy: women with diabetes should have an eye check early in pregnancy and be watched closely until the baby is born.