Clear Vision provides full retina services: diabetic retinopathy screening and treatment, retinal laser, intravitreal injections, retinal detachment management and macular disease care. Every person with diabetes needs a dilated retinal examination at least once a year. Sudden floaters, flashes of light or a dark curtain across your vision need examination the same day — call your nearest branch immediately.
Why the retina is different
The retina is nerve tissue — an extension of the brain, lining the back of the eye. It converts light into the signals you see with. Unlike the cornea or the lens, it does not regenerate. Nerve tissue that dies is gone.
This single fact shapes everything about retinal care. Cataracts can wait; a cataract removed five years late is still removed successfully. A retinal detachment left five days is a very different outcome from one treated within twenty-four hours. Retinal medicine is therefore built around early detection far more than around dramatic intervention.
Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetes damages the smallest blood vessels in the body, and there are few vessels smaller than those feeding the retina. They begin to leak, then to close off, and eventually the retina grows fragile new vessels that bleed. This is diabetic retinopathy, and it is the leading cause of preventable blindness in working-age adults in India.
The cruel part is that it is silent. Vision typically stays normal through the early and moderate stages. Patients often tell us their sight was fine right up until the week it suddenly was not.
Who needs screening, and how often
- Type 2 diabetes: a dilated retinal examination at diagnosis, then every year
- Type 1 diabetes: from five years after diagnosis, then every year
- Retinopathy already present: every three to six months, as advised
- Pregnancy with diabetes: in each trimester, as retinopathy can accelerate
Conditions we treat
- Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema — laser and injections
- Retinal detachment — surgical repair; an emergency
- Retinal tears and holes — sealed with laser before they progress
- Age-related macular degeneration — anti-VEGF injections
- Retinal vein occlusion — a "stroke" in a retinal vessel
- Hypertensive retinopathy — damage from high blood pressure
- Vitreous haemorrhage — bleeding into the gel inside the eye
- Floaters and flashes — assessed to rule out a tear
How treatment works
Retinal laser
An outpatient procedure under anaesthetic drops. A contact lens is placed on the eye and laser spots seal leaking vessels or wall off damaged areas so the disease cannot spread. It takes 15–20 minutes and you go home straight afterwards.
Intravitreal injections
Anti-VEGF medication delivered directly into the eye to reduce swelling and shut down abnormal vessels. The eye is fully numbed; most patients describe pressure rather than pain. Injections are usually given in a course, with the interval decided by how the retina responds.
Retinal surgery
For detachments and significant bleeding, vitreoretinal surgery repairs the retina and restores its position. Urgency matters enormously here.
What a retina appointment involves
Your pupils are dilated with drops, which takes 30–45 minutes to work. Your retina specialist then examines the full retina and, where needed, images it. Because dilation blurs vision and makes you light-sensitive for several hours, bring sunglasses and do not plan to drive yourself home.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a diabetic have an eye check-up?
Every person with diabetes should have a dilated retinal examination at least once a year, starting from the time of diagnosis for type 2 diabetes. If retinopathy is already present, checks are needed every three to six months. Diabetic retinopathy causes no pain and no early change in vision, so waiting for symptoms means waiting until damage has already happened.
What are the warning signs of a retinal problem?
Seek an urgent retinal examination if you notice:
- A sudden shower of new floaters
- Flashes of light
- A dark curtain or shadow moving across your field of vision
- Straight lines suddenly appearing wavy or distorted
- A sudden drop in central vision
A retinal detachment is a medical emergency, and the outcome depends heavily on how quickly it is treated.
Is retinal laser treatment painful?
Retinal laser is performed as an outpatient procedure under anaesthetic drops with a contact lens on the eye. Most patients feel a series of brief pinprick sensations and see bright flashes. It is uncomfortable rather than painful, takes around 15 to 20 minutes, and you go home immediately afterwards.
Can vision lost to diabetic retinopathy be restored?
Treatment is designed to preserve the vision you still have and stop further loss. Swelling of the macula often improves with injections, recovering some vision. However, vision lost because retinal nerve tissue has already died cannot be brought back — which is why annual screening, before symptoms appear, matters so much.