loss of blood supply to retina

[JudyO35]

My daughter has had type 1 diabetes for over 20 years and has diabetic retinopathy. After a series of bleeds and resulting laser surgery, she suffered a detached retina in one eye and underwent a total vitrectomy.  Three days later, she could see nothing - the result, probably of an infection.  She was treated with antibiotics and steroids, but her sight never fully recovered and now a fluorogram confirms that she has lost blood supply to approximately 25% of the retina.

Who would be the best person in the country for her to see and is there anything that can  be done to restore the blood supply, and ultimately, the sight in that eye?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You need to clarify her problem. An infection "endophthalmitis" after a vitrectomy is a huge complication and if ANY vision is saved its a triumph. It doesn't like she had that. All such operations are treated with antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection.

After 20 years almost all people with type 1 diabetes have some retinopathy. Diabetes effects the very smallest blood vessels in the body (capillaries) and many types of retinopathy are accompanied by larges areas of "capillary wipeout". At present there is no treatment for this except to ablate these areas with laser to stop the areas from releasing chemicals that cause proliferative retinopathy

JCH MD

[berrywoo]

When the retina does not receive proper blood supply for more than 90 minutes the damage that results is irreversible!

The "best" vitreo-retinal surgeon is subjective. However, if you want you can try a major teaching hospital's eye center. Search this website to find a list.

Your daughter needs to keep her blood sugar levels well managed and see an ophthalmologist regularly to make sure the diabetic retinopathy is well controlled.