Vascular Occlusions

A blockage in the main retinal artery or one of the small branches, the light-sensitive cells of the retina gradually begin to choke due to lack of oxygen. If normal circulation in the retina is not reestablished immediately, these cells will die within a few minutes or hours depending on the extent of the obstruction of blood flow. This can cause permanent and often significant vision loss.

Retinal Vascular Occlusions constitute, together with Hypertensive Retinopathy and Diabetic Retinopathy, the most frequent Retinal Vascular Diseases.

Retinal vascular occlusions generally appear in patients who have an underlying cardiovascular pathology such as systemic arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, or cerebrovascular disease.

There are two types of retinal vascular obstructions:

– Retinal arterial embolism.
– Retinal vein thrombosis.

TREATMENT:

* Photocoagulation, a small beam of light destroys the abnormal and permeable blood vessels.
* Time-release steroids, Ozurdex.