Laser surgery may be performed in your ophthalmologist's office or in an outpatient clinic. If diabetic retinopathy is detected early, laser surgery will slow down loss of vision. If the vitreous is clouded by blood, laser surgery cannot be used until the blood settles or clears. In some of these cases retinal cryotherapy may help shrink the abnormal blood vessels and bond the retina to the back of the eye. Vitrectomy may be recommended in advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Vitrectomy removes the blood-filled vitreous and replaces it with a clear solution.
Your ophthalmologist may wait from several months to a year to see if the blood will clear on its own, before going ahead with a vitrectomy. Retinal repair may be necessary if scar tissue has detached the retina from the back of the eye. Severe loss of vision or even blindness can result if surgery is not performed to reattach the retina. Diabetic retinopathy causes 8,000 new cases of blindness in this country each year. People with untreated diabetes are said to be 25 times more at risk for blindness than the general population.