Intravitreal injection is a method of direct injection of the drug into the patient’s eye. The injection should be done in the back of the eye, called the vitreous cavity. The vitreous cavity is filled with vitreous gel (a liquid gel). Because of the importance of this process, an eye injection should be performed by a specialist.

Ophthalmic Injection (Intravitreal)

The intravitreal injection is done when the doctor wants to treat some of the retinal problems by injecting the drug into the eye. For example, retinal vein obstruction, age-related macular degeneration, or diabetic retinopathy, is treated with intravitreal drugs called anti-VEGF. Intravitreal steroids are also used as treatment for uveitis, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein obstruction. These two types of medicines reduce the outflow of fluid due to eye problems. Other types of drugs used are antibiotics and antiviral or antifungal drugs. These drugs stop eye infections such as retinitis and endophthalmitis.

There is no need for an operating room for the injection, which can be done in the office. You sit on a chair, your eyes and eyelids are numb, so you don’t feel pain when you inject. After you are ready, the doctor will ask you to look in a certain direction so that he can easily inject your ophthalmic drugs into the vitreous. You don’t have to worry. You will feel a little pressure during the injection. At the end of the day, the doctor cleans your eyes and the operation is over! Intravitreal injection will only take a few minutes.

In certain circumstances, you may need to have repeated eye injections, such as macular edema due to diabetes problems, retinal vein obstruction, or macular degeneration, because these diseases are the source of chronic disorders.

Symptoms that result from intravitreal injection

There are symptoms of any eye disease that you should be aware of. For macular degeneration, the first symptom can be a sudden change in the quality of your vision. That comes with blurred vision or dark spots in your field of vision. You may also find it difficult to recognize color, if you have diabetic macular edema, blurred images and colors may fade.

Retinal vein obstruction symptoms:

Loss of vision and blurred vision usually occur in one eye. You may also see dark spots. In a worse situation, the patient suffers from high back pain and pressure.

What are the side effects of intravenous or intravitreal injection?

Every surgery has its own side effects and risks. We will list some of the side effects of injections:

IOP increases
Bleeding may occur inside the vitreous gel
In some cases, the patient’s retina may detach
The patient’s eye may become infected
Loss of vision is also likely
The eye may react to some medications and swell
Patient may lose eyesight (very rare)
Note that these side effects rarely occur and can be controlled.