Anti-VEGF Therapy

Avastin™

Avastin™ is a medication that can reduce swelling in the macula, prevent further vision loss and even improve vision for some patients with age-related macular degeneration or AMD. It works by stopping the body from producing VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), a chemical that makes abnormal blood vessels grow. Avastin was originally developed to treat colorectal cancer and is FDA-approved for that purpose. However, studies have shown that Avastin can also effectively treat AMD and related eye conditions, and can result in increased vision. Many ophthalmologists now offer it to their patients. Avastin is given in a series of injections about 4-6 weeks apart.

Intravitreal Injections

Intravitreal injections are commonly used to treat retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and retinal vein occlusion. These diseases often cause blindness and should be treated as early and as thoroughly as possible. FDA-approved medications such as Lucentis, Avastin or Macugen are injected directly into the eye to help patients maintain their baseline vision and keep vision loss at a minimum. Many patients often see an improvement in their vision from these injections as well.

Intraocular injections are especially effective in treating wet age-related macular degeneration, which, although less common than the dry form, accounts for more than 90% of blindness caused by the disease.

This procedure is performed in your doctor's office and requires only a local anesthetic. Before the medication is injected, the eye is numbed with anesthetic eye drops to help minimize discomfort. The eye is then cleaned with an antiseptic solution and held open with a wire speculum. The medication is then injected directly into the eye. Intraocular injections are usually administered once a month to maintain eye health in patients with degenerative eye diseases.

Patients may experience some pain or scratchy sensations after the injection. Although rare, side effects may include eye pain, conjunctival hemorrhage, floaters, increased eye pressure and inflammation of the eye. Patients can minimize the risk of these side effects by choosing a skilled and experienced doctor to treat all of their eye conditions. If you are interested in learning more about intraocular injections, please call us today to schedule an appointment.

VEGF Inhibitor

Intraocular injections are commonly used to treat retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and retinal vein occlusion. These conditions cause damage to the retinal blood vessels, cutting off the supply of adequate amounts of oxygen to the retinal tissue. In response to this, abnormal production of a blood vessel hormone called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) takes place. VEGF causes fragile, abnormal blood vessels to grow inside the eye. These abnormal blood vessels will rupture and bleed, often causing severe vision loss.

FDA-approved medications are injected directly into the eye to help patients maintain their baseline vision and keep vision loss at a minimum. They act as VEGF inhibitors. Many patients often see an improvement in their vision from these injections as well. Intraocular injections are especially effective in treating wet age-related macular degeneration, which, although less common than the dry form, accounts for more than 90% of blindness caused by the disease.

This procedure is performed in your doctor's office. Before the medication is injected, the eye is numbed with anesthetic eye drops to help minimize discomfort. The eye is then cleaned with an antiseptic solution and held open with a wire speculum. The medication is injected directly into the eye.

Some of the medications used most successfully as VEGF inhibitors include:

Eylea has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of wet AMD. These injections are provided every four to eight weeks. Eylea has been proven effective in helping those with AMD maintain, or sometimes even improve, their visual acuity.
Lucentis is a prescription medication for the treatment of patients with wet AMD. It received FDA approval in 2006 after studies showed its ability to help maintain or improve vision in these patients. Lucentis is typically given in monthly injections.
Avastin is a medication that can reduce swelling in the macula, prevent further vision loss and even improve vision for some patients with AMD. Avastin was originally developed to treat colorectal cancer and is FDA-approved for that purpose. However, studies have shown that Avastin can also effectively treat AMD and related eye conditions. Avastin is given in a series of injections about four to six weeks apart.
Macugen was the first VEGF inhibitor to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of wet AMD in 2004. It has been proven effective at slowing AMD-related vision loss. Injections with Macugen are provided every six weeks for most patients.

Corticosteroid

Corticosteroids are a type of medication used to reduce inflammation and treat conditions such as macular edema. Corticosteroid treatments are administered by injection, providing quick results and only a mild amount of discomfort. We offer several different types of corticosteroid to provide relief to our patients.

Ozurdex is a medication that can be injected within the vitreous cavity. It is a procedure that takes only seconds to perform and is essentially painless. Ozurdex can often prevent severe visual loss and allows the doctor to treat diseases that were once not treatable.
Triesence is a variation of triamincinolone that is made without the use of preservatives. It is often effective when topical medications have not proven successful.
Triamcinolone, which is also known as Kenalog, is a treatment often used in cases of inflammation of the eye called uveitis or cystoid macular edema. It takes seconds to do and is a painless, in-office procedure.

Photodynamic

Photodynamic therapy is used to treat a complication of wet macular degeneration in which leaks form beneath the retina. These leaks occur in a structure in the eye called the choroidal neovascular membrane, or CNVM.

Visudyne During photodynamic therapy, Visudyne (verteporfin) dye is injected into the CNVM and a narrow-wavelength laser beam is focused on it for about 90 seconds. The dye absorbs the energy and slows or stops leakage by creating blood clots and stopping abnormal blood vessels from growing. Following treatment, patients should avoid direct exposure to sunlight for several days. Patients most likely to benefit from treatment will have newly onset macular degeneration and no scarring. Vision stabilization is maximized with a series of treatments over one to two years.