What treatment options are available for macular degeneration?
Thermal Laser was the first treatment used to treat wet macular degeneration and is still occasionally used today. It uses a light beam focused on the blood vessels to canalize them. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses a low intensity laser to stimulate a light sensitive drug that is injected intravenously to cause shrinking of abnormal blood vessels of the macula. Anti-VEGF Injections are the newest treatment involving a series of injections of a small quantity of drugs called anti-VEGF into the eye. These drugs block chemicals that allow the abnormal blood vessels to grow. Treatment for wet macular degeneration can involve combining these types of treatments and treatments may take many months to complete.
