Retina & Vitreous Services
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Overview
UR Medicine’s Flaum Eye Institute is home to the region’s premiere Retina and Vitreous Service. Here a team of expertly trained specialists deliver the latest treatment and technologies to preserve and restore vision.
The retina is a thin and complex tissue at the back of your eye. It is filled with light gathering cells and nerve cells that work together to turn the light that enters the eye into electrical signals that your brain process as sight. Damage to the retina from injury or disease is serious and can cause permanent loss of vision.
There are many causes of retinal disease related to the vascular system and are linked to such conditions as high blood pressure and diabetes. Other diseases are often caused by genetic disorders, aging, environment, or cancers.
Common conditions include:
- Age-related Macular Degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in older Americans)
- Diabetic Retinopathy (the leading cause of blindness in people under 50)
- Detached Retinas
- Retinal Vein Occlusion
- Retinal Infections
- Retinoblastoma and Retinal Melanomas
- Retinal Holes
- Posterior Uveitis
- Retinopathy of Prematurity
UR Medicine's Approach
Our Retina and Vitreous Service operates in a new, state-of-the-art facility located at Strong Memorial Hospital. Here we provide surgical and medical treatment for retinal diseases. We also see patients at select satellite locations where we offer patients therapy.
We feature the most extensive collection of diagnostic technology in Upstate New York staffed by an expert team of ophthalmic imagers. We also collaborate with departments in the University of Rochester to offer the region’s only genetics testing service for retinal diseases.
Among our treatments and capabilities are:
- Retinal Detachment Surgery
- Laser and Photodynamic Therapy
- Cryotherapy
- Medical Therapy for age-related macular degeneration and other maculopathies
- Medical Therapy for Diabetic Retinopathy
- Pediatric Retinal Surgery
- Cross-management with other specialties of complex retinal disease
- Emergency retinal surgery
- Gene Therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa
- Retinal Cancer Treatment
What Sets Us Apart?
Our team of fellowship-trained retinal specialists is the largest in the region. We treat everything from the most routine to the most complex diseases, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to care. As a leader in education, we are also training the next generation of retinal specialists through our fellowship program.
We have a growing number of locations throughout the region for your convenience. Each is equipped with the latest and most advanced diagnostic equipment and many of our offices have full-service optical shops where you can purchase glasses and contact lenses.
Our main facility includes our own surgery center on the second floor of Strong Memorial Hospital, just below the Eye Institute’s faculty practice clinic.
Equipped with the region’s most up-to-date surgical equipment, we’re able to routinely perform complex procedures that were once referred to eye care centers hundreds of miles away, saving you time and keeping you close to home.
We’re also part of National Clinical Trials, and are ranked in the top 20 in eye research funding in the United States, including an NIH-funded Retinal research program. As part of the National Eye Institute’s Audacious Goals Program, our clinicians and scientists are advancing the field of vision restoration. So, you can be assured that our care is informed by the latest scientific discoveries.