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Medical Author:

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Dahl's educational background includes a BA with Honors and Distinction from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and an MD from Cornell University, where he was selected for Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He had an internal medical internship at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Treatment

Medical treatment of diabetic eye disease is generally directed at the underlying problem - the diabetes itself. The better control a patient has of the disease, the fewer problems they will have in the long run.

Monitoring the patient's glycosylated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C, Hb1AC) is the best assessment of the overall level of blood sugar control. A medical doctor will order this blood test at least once a year. If the patient's results are initially found to be abnormal or if the patien'ts self-test blood sugar results become more variable, then this blood test may be ordered more frequently.

• For diabetic retinopathy, surgical treatment (for example, laser treatment) is the treatment of choice. Injections of corticosteroids or newer anti-vascular-proliferative medications in the area around the eye may be used.
  
  
• Cataracts are commonly treated with cataract surgery.
  
  
• Glaucoma requires the use of antiglaucoma medications.