What does fundus angiography examine

People rely on vision to a large extent to obtain all the information in the world, so the health and safety of eyes is of vital importance to people. The living blood vessels throughout the human body can only be seen through the fundus. Generally speaking, ophthalmologists use an ophthalmoscope to observe the fundus through the pupil, but the range of vision is very small and the judgment depends entirely on the doctor's experience. Using mydriatic eye drops can dilate the pupil and expand the range of fundus observation. However, patients can only learn about the condition of their own fundus from the doctor's description. At this time, fundus angiography can solve these problems.

If we use a fundus camera to take a picture of the fundus, the photo can be printed out at the same time, so that we can see the full picture of our fundus. The fundus has very important structures, including the optic nerve, retina, retinal arteries and veins, and macula (the center of vision).

Fundus images

It's just a flat image, and it has limitations. We can also perform fundus fluorescein angiography by injecting fluorescein through the elbow vein and taking continuous films at the same time. It can clearly show the fine structure of the microcirculation, down to the capillary level, and obtain dynamic images at different times of filming, which fully and systematically describe the normal or abnormal state of the circulation, as well as bleeding, exudation, fluorescein leakage, capillary non-perfusion areas, etc.

Fundus examination

It is a very important part of eye examination. From the fundus images we can diagnose various eye diseases as well as internal medicine diseases and brain diseases. Such as optic neuropathy, retinopathy, retinal vascular disease, macular degeneration, hypertensive arteriosclerosis, diabetic retinopathy, kidney disease, blood disease, brain disease, etc.

Fundus angiography: It is a technique that uses intravenous injection of sodium fluorescein dye to visualize the fundus blood vessels. Understanding the structure and function of the fundus and the diagnosis and treatment of fundus diseases are often inseparable from this examination. However, the risks involved in the examination make patients feel hesitant.

On the one hand, this examination is time-consuming. The pupil needs to be fully dilated before the examination, which takes about 30 minutes. The examination process takes 20 minutes, and the patient often takes an hour to get the test results. On the other hand, this examination requires intravenous injection of contrast agent, which carries certain risks. Patients with allergic constitution or family history of severe allergies, severe asthma, liver and kidney damage, recent frequent heart attacks, and cerebral infarction within 2 months are not suitable for this examination.

Generally speaking, as long as the patient's blood pressure is controlled below 150/90mmhg, fasting blood sugar is less than 12mmol/L, and the electrocardiogram is normal, fundus angiography can be performed. In special circumstances, patients with liver and kidney diseases need to provide recent liver and kidney function test results, and patients with heart disease need to provide electrocardiograms for the doctor's judgment.

Although there are many requirements, since the advent of fundus retinal angiography (FFA) examination, it has been safe for the vast majority of patients, so there is no need to be too nervous. Be sure to tell your doctor your physical condition truthfully so that the doctor can take everything into consideration during the examination and avoid accidents!