Diabetic retinopathy is a potentially blinding complication of diabetes that damages the eye's retina . Diabetes affects 14 million Americans. The prevalence of all types of retinopathy in the diabetic population increases with the duration of diabetes and patient age.
Diabetic retinopathy occurs when diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina.
At this point , most people do not notice any changes in their vision. Some people develop a condition termed macular edema . It occurs when the damaged blood vessels leak fluid and serum lipids into the macula. Diabetic macular edema is treated with focal laser . Fluorescein angiography is performed using a special camera .