Retina Care Specialists Durango, CO

Experts in Retinal Care

At Southwest Eye Consultants in Durango, Colorado, our fellowship-trained eye surgeons use advanced diagnostic imaging and the most current surgical techniques to provide the highest quality retinal care available. Drs. Moss J. Fenberg and Sara J. Haug work collaboratively in the treatment of vision-threatening retinal disease.

The retina is the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. Normally, light rays are focused onto the retina through your cornea, pupil, and lens, and the retina converts the rays into impulses that travel to your brain where they are interpreted as the images you see. This is why an intact and healthy retina is vital to clear vision.

Our expertise includes the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of retinal conditions that can impair or damage your vision. Treatment involves medical, laser, and possibly surgical care. Many conditions today are treated with intravitreal therapy – a procedure that involves injecting medication directly into the vitreous cavity (the space in the back of the eye) near the retina. Common retinal conditions include:

• Acquired vitelliform lesions are round, yellowish deposits beneath the central retina or macula.
• Age-related macular degeneration occurs when the central portion of the retina deteriorates, causing blurred vision or vision loss.
• Branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) is a blockage of the tiny veins that carry blood away from the retina.
• Central retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a blockage of the main retinal vein.
• Central serous retinopathy occurs when fluid accumulates under the retina, causing a fluid-filled detachment and vision loss.
• Charles Bonnet Syndrome is a condition that causes those who have lost part of their vision to see hallucinations.
• Choroidal detachment is a rupture of choroidal vessels.
• Complex retinal detachment is a large, complex retinal tear.
• Congenital X-linked retinoschisis is an early-onset, hereditary retinal disease that involves the splitting of retinal layers, particularly in the center of vision or peripheral retina.
• Diabetic retinopathy is a diabetes-related complication that causes damage to the blood vessels of the retina.
• Endophthalmitis is an inflammation of the intraocular fluids.
• Epiretinal membranes is a condition in which a thin layer of scar tissue forms on the surface of the retina responsible for the sharpest vision.
• Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy is a hereditary disorder that reduces blood supply to the retina and causes progressive vision loss.
• Idiopathic juxtafoveal telangiectasis is a condition in which abnormalities develop in blood vessels in the center of the retina.
• Infectious retinitis is an inflammation of the retina caused by a virus, bacteria, fungi, or parasites.
• Intraocular lens dislocation is a rare condition affecting cataract surgery patients involving the displacement of an implanted lens toward the vitreous cavity of the eye.
• Lattice degeneration is a disease in which the peripheral retina becomes atrophic in a pattern that may develop tears, breaks, or holes that can progress to retinal detachment.
• Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a retinal disorder resulting in severe visual impairment starting in infancy.
• Macular degeneration occurs when the central portion of the retina deteriorates, causing blurred vision or vision loss.
• Macular edema is a build-up of fluid in the macula.
• Macular hole is a small break in the macula (center of the retina) causing blurred and distorted central vision.
• Macular pucker is scar tissue that forms on the macula, causing blurred or distorted central vision.
• Persistent fetal vasculature is a congenital disorder that occurs when the vascular structures present during eye development fail to naturally regress.
• Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy is a disease primarily affecting the vascular layer of blood vessels the choroid, damaging the overall retina.
• Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is a condition in which the gel that fills the eye becomes liquid and shrinks due to age and normal wear and tear, eventually separating from the retina and causing floaters.
• Presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome is a condition characterized by scarring adjacent to the optic disc and maculopathy.
• Retained lens fragments occur when a cataract cannot be completely removed, and fragments of the cataract fall into the back of the eye.
• Retinal artery occlusion is a blockage of the retinal artery carrying oxygen to the nerve cells in the retina at the back of the eye, which can result in severe vision loss.
• Retinal tear and retinal detachment occurs when vitreous (the clear gel) attached to the retina tears the retina in one or more places, eventually causing it to detach.
• Retinal pigmentosa and retinal prosthesis refers to a group of genetic disorders involving the breakdown and loss of retinal photoreceptors, which can result in progressive retinal degeneration.
• Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a blockage of the tiny veins that carry blood away from the retina.
• Retinoblastoma is a rare form of intraocular cancer almost exclusively in children.
• Retinopathy of prematurity is an eye disease in which abnormal blood vessels grow in the retina of premature babies.
• River blindness/onchocerciasis is a disease caused by a parasitic worm, which can lead to blindness due to infection.
• Uveitis is a type of eye inflammation affecting the middle layer of tissue in the eye wall. Symptoms include eye redness, pain, and blurred vision.
• Vitrectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the vitreous humor gel that fills the eye cavity to gain access to the retina for repair floaters, detachments, and scar tissue.
• Vitreomacular traction syndrome is a condition in which vitreous gel causes symptoms ranging from blurred vision to distorted or blacked-out central vision.

Contact Our Eye Doctors in Durango & Cortez, CO and Farmington, NM

For the best retinal care in the Four Corners region, contact Southwest Eye Consultants by calling (970) 828-2200 and scheduling an appointment with one of our board-certified ophthalmologists. If you prefer, you can use our convenient online request form to arrange a private consultation.

To learn more about these retinal conditions, visit EyeSmart®, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s website for patients.