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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffDiabetic retinopathy is best diagnosed with a dilated eye exam. During the exam, your eye doctor will look for:
- Abnormal blood vessels
- Swelling, blood or fatty deposits in the retina
- Damage to the nerve tissue
- Growth of new blood vessels and scar tissue
- Bleeding in the clear, jelly-like substance that fills the center of the eye (vitreous)
- Retinal detachment
As part of the eye exam, your doctor may do a retinal photography test called fluorescein angiography. First, your doctor will dilate your pupils and take pictures of the inside of your eyes. Then a special dye will be injected into a vein in your arm. More pictures will be taken as the dye circulates through your eyes. Your doctor can use the images to pinpoint blood vessels that are closed, broken down or leaking fluid.
Your doctor also may request an optical coherence tomography (OCT) exam. This imaging test provides cross-sectional images of the retina that show the thickness of the retina and whether fluid has leaked into retinal tissue. Later, OCT exams can be used to monitor treatment effectiveness.
