Retina Exam

What is the Retina?

The light detecting layer of the eye, located inside the eye. 

Do You Need a Retina Exam?

A retinal exam is important because it can help detect eye diseases early. It can also help doctors compare the internal structures of your eye over time, which can help diagnose subtle eye diseases.

When a patient makes an appointment through their medical insurance to see an ophthalmologist for an annual eye exam, they are usually going to have an exam of the retina. When a patient makes an appointment at an optometry office to measure their vision for new eyeglasses, the retina exam is not necessary, unless the patient wants to have a complete eye exam and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their eyes are completely healthy.

For patients over 60 years old, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends yearly dilated eye exams

For patients with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, risks of eye disease like diabetic retinopathy are so high, that yearly retina exams are recommended

How Do We Do the Retina Exam?

When eye doctors attempt to look inside the eyes with microscopes and lenses, the light we use causes the pupil (the dark spot in the middle of the colored iris) to constrict or shrink, making the retina exam more difficult, or impossible. For this reason we need to dilate (open) the pupil with eyedrops which allows the retina exam to be performed properly.

In the past, patients had to decide if they want to use the dilation eye drops, which have side effects (light sensitivity for 5 hours and blurry near vision for 2 hours), in order to perform the retina exam. Now, we have retina cameras, which allow us to image the central retina (other offices have wide field cameras allowing them to measure the peripheral retina also) without needing to dilate the eyes. And we can look at the photos with the patients to review any changes from year to year.

Ultimately the choice to do the retina exam is up to the patient. But when a patient comes in with ominous symptoms and I am worried that there may be an eye emergency happening and they don't want to do the retina exam, I will let that patient know my concerns. I will tell the patient there is a risk of blindness. When another patient comes in without any concerning symptoms and elects not to do the retina exam, after being educated on the risks, I probably wont stress my desire to examine the retina. Even though I know some of those patients will have undetected eye disease.