Argon Laser Treatment for
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

You have a serious eye condition which may result in blindness. The condition that you have is the development of new and abnormal blood vessels on the surface of the retina. These blood vessels are very fragile and can result in hemorrhage.

This hemorrhage can then later go on to formation of scar tissue, retinal detachment and blindness. In order to reduced the chances of this happening, laser treatment of the retina is undertaken. Argon laser treatment is performed at Royal Inland Hospital. It is sometimes quite an uncomfortable procedure and occasionally a freezing injection is applied around the eye prior to the procedure.
You may have to wear a patch for a few hours after the procedure and the eyelid tissue may be quite swollen for 24 to 48 hours if a freezing injection was given.
Three to four laser treatments may be required in order to result in shrinkage of these blood vessels, but in some instances these blood vessels may fail to shrink and further hemorrhages in the eye may occur.Hopefully over time, however, these blood vessels will shrink and no further hemorrhages will occur.

There are several side effects to the application of Argon laser. You may notice some visual blur, especially in the first few days and weeks following treatment. There may be some loss of peripheral vision and reduced vision at night. Occasionally, swelling of the retina may occur with a reduction in vision, but this is a relatively rare occurrence. It has been shown statistically that Argon laser treatment can markedly reduce the chances of you going blind from your disease, but this only reduces the chance and does not eliminate it.

Peter Hopp, MD