We are retina specialists

What is AMD?

Macular Degeneration, or AMD, is a degenerative disorder that affects the central area of the retina, known as the macula. Two types:

• ✦ Atrophic AMD (dry): progressive loss of central vision.


• ✦ Neovascular AMD (wet): sudden and severe loss of central vision.

What are the risk factors for developing AMD?

The primary risk factor is age, as the probability of developing AMD increases progressively from the age of 50. Others: being female, smoking, being white, having light eyes, obesity and a family history of AMD.

How do I know if I have AMD?

The symptoms that progressively develop are experiencing difficulties reading, seeing distorted images (metamorphopsia), or dark spots in the central field of vision. We can detect if you have AMD with this simple test, known as the Amsler Grid. If a patient has AMD, the straight lines will appear distorted and the central point will look like a blotch in the middle of the box.

How is AMD treated?

There is still no treatment for atrophic AMD (dry), but clinical trials are being carried out with different medications to slow down its development, with promising results.

There is treatment for neovascular AMD (wet). In fact, the correct administration of anti-angiogenic medication injected into the eye (intravitreal injections) can prevent blindness in over 95% of cases, and restore vision in a third of all cases.

Neovascular AMD (wet)

Amsler Grid

What does the surgery involve?

Broadly speaking, this procedure essentially involves repositioning and adapting the retina:

• ✦ Returning the retina to its correct position: the surgeon will push the wall of the eye out towards the retina by attaching a silicone band or belt.


• ✦ Repairing the tear or hole caused by the detachment: the surgeon will seal the edges of the tear with a laser or freeze treatment. This surgery may take the ophthalmologist 1 to 3 hours to complete, depending on the level of complexity.


• ✦ In the most complicated cases, the specialist ophthalmologist may opt for vitrectomy instead.

What is the recovery like after retinal detachment surgery?

Since this is a particularly traumatic form of surgery, the eye will be swollen after the operation, and the recovery will depend on the type of treatment used according to the level or the stage of the retinal detachment. The patient may also notice some pain or discomfort, but nothing too severe.

How long will it take to regain normal vision?

The patient will generally fully or partially regain their vision over the course of 6-12 months after the surgery, depending on the severity of the detachment treated.

Vitrectomy: advanced treatment for retinal detachment

Vitrectomy is a minimally invasive vitreous surgical procedure involving a small incision, and is performed using equipment designed specially for this technique. The procedure can often be performed with local anaesthetic and without the need for hospitalisation, and currently achieves good results in many cases.

Many retinal disorders are related to aging, and these are the main causes of blindness in Spain. It is estimated that around 1.7 million people suffer from these types of disorders in Europe. That is why it is so important to detect them early, so we can treat and monitor them properly. They are classified as follows:

Our ophthalmology clinics are equipped with cutting-edge image diagnosis technology for examining the retina with great precision. These tests often prevent and enable early detection of these disorders, some of which are the main causes of blindness in Spain:

• ✦ High resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT): used for the study, management and diagnostic monitoring of the anterior pole of the eye (macula, retina and vitreous). It is also used for assessing optical nerve disorders (glaucoma).


• ✦ Angio-OCT: this technology allows us to visualise the anatomy of the retinal and choroidal circulation in patients with retina-related eye disorders in a non-invasive and painless way, in contrast to a traditional angiography.


• ✦ Nd:YAG Laser: a non-invasive, painless outpatient treatment for floaters (myodesopsia) for selected cases.


• ✦ Spectralis- OCT (technology used by NASA): is an optical coherence tomography imaging system that provides specialists with unique views of the structure and function of the eye. It is a non-invasive and contactless multimodal platform that provides extensive detail and information about the patient in just a few minutes, to help the ophthalmologist make an early diagnosis. Oftalvist is the only private centre in the Valencian Community that uses this technology.