Medical Retina
Detailed scanning of the macula, and treatment guided by what it shows.
Overview
The macula is a small central area of the retina, a few millimetres across, responsible for almost all of your detailed vision: reading, faces, driving and screens. Disease affecting it has a disproportionate effect on daily life, and responds considerably better to early treatment than to late.
Assessment combines high-resolution scanning with images of the retinal circulation to separate conditions that look similar through the microscope but behave quite differently. Treatment then follows the diagnosis and is judged against what the scans show, not against an impression of change.
When to seek assessment
- Straight lines appearing bent, wavy or interrupted
- A blurred, grey or missing patch in central vision
- Reading more slowly despite the correct glasses
- Colours looking less vivid in one eye
- Sudden distortion — this needs assessment within days
Diagnosis
How the assessment is made
High-resolution macular scan
A cross-section of the retina that distinguishes the dry from the wet form of macular degeneration, shows exactly where fluid is sitting, and tracks the response layer by layer.
Retinal health imaging
A photograph that maps areas where the supporting cell layer has thinned, and how quickly those areas are enlarging.
Circulation imaging
A dye-free scan of the blood vessels beneath the retina, which can find new vessel growth at an early and treatable stage.
Treatment
Options and what each one is for
Injection treatment
The established treatment for wet macular degeneration and vein occlusion, given on a schedule that gradually extends as the eye responds — protecting vision while reducing visits.
Supplements and risk factors
Evidence-based supplementation where it is genuinely indicated, alongside stopping smoking, blood pressure control, and simple home monitoring.
Laser and light-activated treatment
Used in selected conditions such as persistent central fluid, where injections are not the appropriate answer.
Support for reduced vision
Magnification, lighting and contrast strategies that restore reading and independence where some central vision has already been lost.
Recovery
What to expect afterwards
After an injection
A few days of mild irritation. Vision may be briefly blurred by the injected volume, and any floaters usually settle within a day.
The treatment course
Typically three monthly injections to begin, then progressively longer gaps guided by your scans.
Long term
Scanning continues even in quiet periods, because a recurrence is silent and is best caught before symptoms return.
Questions
Frequently asked
If your question is not answered here, it is welcome in consultation — or by message before you book.
It affects central vision and does not cause total blindness — side vision is preserved. With prompt treatment of the wet form, most patients keep useful reading vision.