Fluorescein
Angiography (Test for Diabetic Retinopathy)
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What is the
test?
By looking into the back of your eye (the retina),
eye doctors can see changes in the blood vessels
there that show whether you are at risk for losing
vision from diabetes or other causes. The earliest
changes can be seen only with a special test
called fluorescein angiography. For this test,
a chemical that temporarily makes the blood vessels
fluorescent and shows very tiny leaks in them
is injected into one of your arm or hand veins
while you are having your eyes examined.
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How
do I prepare for the test?
You should arrange to have someone else drive
you home from the eye doctor, because your eyes
will be dilated; this can make your eyes sensitive
to the sun and your vision blurry for a while.
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What
happens when the test is performed?
You have drops put into your eye to make the
pupil dilate (open), and you have to wait for
about half an hour while the drops take effect.
Before giving you any other medicine, your doctor
might first examine your eyes for signs of bleeding
or debris outside of your retina arteries; these
are signs of more advanced eye disease from diabetes.
Then a nurse inserts a small needle into one
of the veins in your arm or hand so that you
can have a dose of medicine injected. Your doctor
uses a special eye camera to take pictures of
your retina. You look into one side of the camera
while your doctor looks through the other side.
The camera shines a dim blue light into your
eye, which causes the dye flowing through the
retina arteries to show up as fluorescent green.
The doctor takes a collection of pictures of
your eyes to review more closely later.
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What
risks are there from the test?
There are no special risks from this test, although
your vision may be blurry for an hour or more
after the test because your pupils are dilated.
The dye fluorescein is excreted from your body
in your urine, which might give your urine a
bright or discolored appearance for a day.
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Must
I do anything special after the test is over?
You will need to wear sunglasses for a few hours
until your pupils are no longer dilated.
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How
long is it before the result of the test is
known?
Your doctor can often discuss the results of
the test with you at the end of your visit. He
or she might recommend treatment (such as eye
laser treatments) if your test reveals retina
disease.
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