Video: What is diabetic retinopathy?

In this video, I explain diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is a condition of the retina – and that’s the film at the back at the eye. And the film at the back at the eye is nourished by blood vessels. And in diabetes you have high levels of sugar. If you have high levels of sugar in the blood vessels of the eye, they can cause damage.

And the two things that really can be a problem with that are blood vessels that leak within that film and swell it up and that can cause blurred vision. And they can cause of lack of oxygen to that tissue. If that happens, blood vessels can grow and bleed.

So the two things are swelling up the retina and blood vessels growing at the back of the eye due to high sugar in the blood vessels of the eye. And that is the essential bit of what diabetic retinopathy is. There are different grades and different definitions which we can talk about. But that’s the essence of it.

If you want to discuss what type of diabetic retinopathy you have, then feel free to ring the number at the end of the video and we can discuss it in further detail.

About Jaheed Khan

My name is Jaheed Khan and I am a Consultant Eye Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital and Clinica London.

My special expertise is in cataract surgery and conditions affecting the back of the eye, the retina, including AMD (Age Related Macular Degeneration), diabetic retinopathy, and various other diseases of the retina.

I have over 15 years experience in treating people with eye problems just like you, and have published extensively in scientific journals about treating eye conditions.

In my NHS practice, I am responsible day-to-day for the training of the eye surgeons of the future.