What Is a Retina Specialist?

By Omar Ahmad, MD

Chesapeake Retina Centers

More Vision & Eye Care Articles

What Is a Retina Specialist?

When your eye doctor refers you to a retina specialist, there can be confusion as to why and what the differences are between the eye doctor you have been seeing routinely or even during certain emergencies and the new specialist that you are being sent to. This confusion comes about because of various reasons.

First, the diseases that retinal specialists deal with are not as commonly known as some other diseases such as refractive errors and surgery, cataracts, glaucoma and infections. Therefore, many times you as a patient are not as well informed beforehand about some of the diseases that retina specialists treat.

The retina is a collection of components, tissue, and structures in the back part of the eye that collect light and convert it into images. The images are collected into a bundle of nerves that is then transmitted to the brain. The blood vessels that supply blood to the eye also enter through the retina. The diseases that we treat have to do with problems in these structures. These include, but are not limited to, diseases such as retinal tears and detachments, vitreous opacities, diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, macular degeneration, strokes in the eye, optic nerve disorders, and hereditary conditions. Retina specialists also deal with trauma to the eye and complications from various types of eye surgeries. Inflammation in the eye is called Uveitis, which is also handled by a retina specialist. Most of these conditions are emergent and need to be evaluated and treated right away. This urgency can add to the stress involved.

A second reason there is sometimes confusion is that many times the precise condition you have may not even be known until you are evaluated by the retina specialist. Your eye doctor may not even know what condition to discuss with you. We have a myriad of specialized tests that are not usually performed during routine eye exams. Patients are often unfamiliar with these tests and require thorough explanation as to what they are and why they are needed.

Retinal specialists undergo additional years of training to deal specifically with the medical and surgical aspects of retinal disease and treatment. They do not treat general eye diseases or other anterior parts of the eye. Their clinics are set up in a very specialized way to handle the specialized testing and treatment that retinal diseases require. There are some retinal diseases that are chronic and managed over a long time period. Most often, however, the goal is to treat and cure the retinal condition so that you may return back to your regular eye doctor.

It seems amazing that such a small organ in the body can have so many specialists that deal with various parts of it. This fact speaks to the advancements in treatment currently available and the depth of knowledge we have at this time regarding the eye and eyesight.