A complication of diabetes, diabetic retinopathy is a condition that damages blood vessels in the eye. This eMedTV segment discusses this condition in detail, including symptoms, vision loss, diagnosis, and treatment options.
Vitrectomy and scatter laser surgery are two options to treat diabetic retinopathy. However, as this eMedTV segment explains, treatment is not needed in initial stages of the disease, unless a person has macular edema.
A vitrectomy is a medical procedure where blood is removed from the center of the eye. This page on the eMedTV Web site takes an in-depth look at this procedure and explains why it is often used to treat proliferative retinopathy.