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Macular Degeneration Treatment

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Macular Degeneration Treatment

Although there is no real ‘cure’ for Macular Degeneration, there are some techniques that can temporarily relieve the symptoms of the disease and in some cases stop the progression. Examples are listed below.

Photodynamic Therapy: In this procedure, a drug is put into the patient’s bloodstream which is attracted to damaged or abnormal blood vessels. Over time, the drug clears out of healthy blood vessels and remains only in abnormal ones. The drug itself is sensitive to a specific laser, which is then directed through a contact lens and directly onto the abnormal vessels, causing them to stop growing and to close. Several treatments are necessary (sometimes over years) and although initial results are usually very good, phototherapy does not guarantee that Macular Degeneration will progress in the future.

Transpupillary Thermotherapy: Transpupillary thermotherapy is similar to Photodynamic Therapy except that it does not use any vascular drugs and the laser itself is a low energy, long exposure laser. The treatment slowly heats up the tissues of and below the retina to close abnormal blood vessels. This treatment leaves minimum or no damage to surrounding treatment but does not cure Macular Degeneration. New blood vessels can still form in the area and blood vessels closed by the therapy may still hemorrhage.

Laser Treatment: Laser treatment is a procedure used to stop the progression of Wet Macular Degeneration. It does not recover vision that has already been lost to the disease. With Laser Treatment, a laser is directed through the eye and onto the choroids in an attempt to burn away abnormal vascular activity. Once the abnormal vessels are burned away, the resulting scar leaves a permanent blemish on the patient’s vision.

Sebmacular Surgery: Sebmacular surgery is performed by way of a virectomy. Microsurgical instruments remove the gel inside the eye and replace it with a saline solution. Microscopic surgical tools are then used to make a slit in the retina and gain access to the sub retinal region. The surgeon will then remove all abnormal vessels in the area and allow the retina to heal itself. Sebmacular surgery does not guarantee that Macular Degeneration will not progress in the future.

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Macular Degeneration Treatment