Retinal Laser Photocoagulation

Retinal laser photocoagulation uses a finely focused beam of light to make tiny controlled burns in the retina. Depending on the pattern, the burns seal leaking blood vessels, make abnormal new vessels shrink by reducing the retina's oxygen demand, or weld the retina down around a tear.

It is a sight-preserving treatment: it lowers the risk of severe visual loss from proliferative diabetic retinopathy by more than half and prevents most retinal tears from progressing to detachment. It rarely improves vision, and extensive laser can slightly reduce side and night vision.

What Retinal Laser Photocoagulation involves

Your pupil is widened with drops and the eye is numbed with anaesthetic drops. You sit at a slit lamp with your chin on a rest, and the ophthalmologist places a contact lens on the eye to hold the lids open and focus the beam. You see bright flashes as each burn is applied. In panretinal photocoagulation, 1,200 to 2,000 or more burns are spread across the outer retina, usually split over two or three sessions, sparing the central macula. In focal or grid laser, a small number of gentle burns are placed on leaking microaneurysms near the macula. For a retinal tear, two or three rows of burns are placed around it to create a sealing scar.

Who is a good candidate for Retinal Laser Photocoagulation?

Laser is advised after a dilated examination, OCT scan and often fluorescein angiography show a problem it can treat.

• Proliferative diabetic retinopathy or severe non-proliferative disease at high risk of progressing
• New vessels after a retinal vein occlusion
• Retinal tears, holes and some areas of lattice degeneration with symptoms
• Selected cases of diabetic macular oedema away from the centre, or as an addition to injections
• Central serous chorioretinopathy with a leak outside the fovea, and some retinal vascular tumours

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Diabetic macular oedema involving the centre of vision, where anti-VEGF injections work better
• Wet age-related macular degeneration, now treated with injections
• Eyes with dense cataract or vitreous haemorrhage that block the view, which may need vitrectomy instead
• An established retinal detachment, which needs surgery

Technique options

• Panretinal photocoagulation (PRP): For proliferative diabetic retinopathy and ischaemic vein occlusion. Given in 2 to 3 sessions.
• Focal and grid macular laser: For leaking points outside the fovea. Now second-line to injections.
• Laser retinopexy: Barrier laser around a tear, done urgently within a day or two of diagnosis.
• Pattern-scanning and subthreshold micropulse lasers: Deliver many short burns at once or sub-visible treatment, which is quicker and more comfortable.
• Anti-VEGF injections: An alternative or partner to laser for diabetic eye disease, but needing repeated visits over years.

What happens during your treatment

A session lasts 10 to 30 minutes with anaesthetic drops only. Focal laser and retinopexy are nearly painless. Panretinal laser can cause a dull ache or sharp twinges, especially near the edges of the retina; a numbing injection beside the eye can be given if needed. Vision is dazzled and blurred for a few hours, so you should not drive.

Preparing for your trip

Retinopexy is a single session. Panretinal laser is usually given in 2 to 3 sessions per eye, spaced 1 to 2 weeks apart, although pattern lasers can sometimes complete an eye in one or two visits within a week. A review 4 to 8 weeks later, to see whether new vessels have regressed, can be done by an ophthalmologist at home.

• Tell the doctor about medication, allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and any history of cold sores, keloid scars or autoimmune disease
• Avoid alcohol, aspirin and anti-inflammatory painkillers for a few days beforehand if your own doctor agrees, to reduce bruising
• Arrive without make-up on the treatment area and avoid sunbeds and strong sun for two weeks before

Recovery and results

Blurring clears within a day, and mild aching settles with paracetamol. There are no restrictions on reading or flying after laser alone. Diabetic disease remains lifelong: control of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, with regular retinal checks, matters as much as the laser. Further top-up laser is needed in a proportion of patients.

• Back to everyday activity: A few hours of blurred vision
• When results show: New vessels regress over 4 to 8 weeks
• How long they last: Long-lasting; top-ups sometimes needed

Safety, risks and revision policy

Laser is safe, but it works by sacrificing small areas of retina, so some side effects are expected trade-offs.

• Reduced night vision and narrowing of side vision after extensive panretinal laser, occasionally affecting driving standards
• Temporary or, rarely, persistent worsening of macular swelling
• Small permanent blind spots near the centre after macular laser
• Accidental burn to the fovea, which is rare but serious
• Transient rise in eye pressure or corneal abrasion from the contact lens
• Need for additional laser, injections or vitrectomy if disease progresses

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of Retinal Laser Photocoagulation in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Retinal Laser Photocoagulation, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• Type of laser and number of sessions
• One eye or both
• OCT and fluorescein angiography beforehand
• Combination with anti-VEGF injections
• Follow-up examinations

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

Frequently Asked Questions