Q: My father, aged 50 years, has high uncontrollable diabetes. He was experiencing uncomfortable vision since more than a month. He has never had spectacles. After being to a retina specialist we were informed that the he needs to do an angiography and then a laser procedure after which he would decided if the patient needs an injection or not. I wish to go for second opinion. Kindly give me some information on this condition.

A:Your father seems to be suffering from diabetic retinopathy. It is an eye disease, which develops over years and some times despite a good control. In this condition the small blood vessels of the eye become leaky or abnormal blood vessel formation occurs which can cause bleeding into the eye. Fundus fluorescein angiography is a diagnostic modality, which helps to know the exact extent/classify the diabetic damage and plan the treatment. Laser is the mainstay of therapy for diabetic eye disease. Also nowadays newer medicines are available which when injected into the eye further potentiate the effect of laser.