Diabetic eye disease is a group of eye diseases that are associated with diabetes, and can affect those suffering from diabetes mellitus, or uncontrolled blood sugars.
Diabetic Retinopathy: Chronically elevated blood sugars can damage the tiny blood vessels or capillaries in the retina (the light sensitive portion at the back of the eye), leading to a disease called diabetic retinopathy. The damaged blood vessels in the retina become leaky, and the resulting bleeding and leak of protein-fluid can distort vision. Over time, if the disease process is not controlled, new abnormal blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina, which can bleed, and lead to scarring, both of which can potentially cause vision loss.
Diabetic macular edema (DME). The macula is the most light senisitve portion of the retina, responsible for sharp central vision. Because of the leaking fluid from the blood vessles of the retina that are affected by diabetes, the macula gets a swelling and that often results in distortion and/ or loss of vision. This is called diabetic macular edema, or DME.
Diabetic eye disease also includes cataract and glaucoma:
Cataract results in decrease of vision that is painless and progressive, due to a clouding of the eye’s lens which is naturally clear and transparent. Cataracts tend to develop and progress faster in patients with uncontrolled blood sugars, as compared to those without.
Glaucoma is also known to be twice as common in people with diabetes, as compared to those without. Glaucoma is a group of heterogeneous diseases which the eye’s optic nerve is damaged, often due to elevated eye pressures.
All forms of diabetic eye disease, if uncontrolled and not treated in time, have the potential to cause severe vision loss and blindness.it is therefore essential to consult a retina specialist with special training in diabetic diseases, for optimal results.
Again, there are no parameters for judging who the “best doctor” is, but in terms of training and access to technology and patient care, the following doctors have made their mark in Delhi-NCR.
Dr Pawan Gupta, Eye 7 hospital: Dr Gupta is a senior vitreo-retina specialist at Eye7, Lajpat Nagar. He is an eminent vitreo-retina and uveitis specialist, with special interest in diabetic eye disease. An alumnus of the prestigious PGIMER, Chandigarh, he did his MS in Ophthalmology, followed by extensive training in vitreo-retina and uveities at Advanced Eye Centre, PGIMER Chandigarh. Prior to joining the Eye 7 hospitals, Dr Gupta was the He had head of department for vitreo-retina and uveities services at Venu Eye Institute and Research Centre in the capital. He is one of the pioneers of anti-VEGF therapy in India, which is fast becoming the cornerstone for treatment of intractable diabetic macular edema as well as Age Related Macular Degeneration.
Needless to say, he has many awards and honors to his credit, and has published extensively in renowned medical journals especially on uveities and three dimensional optical coherence tomography. An active clinician and researcher, his work has been path breaking in the fields of diabetic retinopathy, central serous retinopathy, uveitic hypotony and ocular effects of dengue fever.