Fluorescein angiography
- Thread starter Koalajane
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kitedoc
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Hi @Koalajane, I had one of these tests in about 1980 so some of the gadgetry may have changed.
And based on that, but not as professional advice or opinion:
The doctor injects fluoroscein, a dye that glows in light, into a vein and watches through the eye-port of the gadget to see when the dye comes through the small blood vessels in your eyes. The injection might burn a little in the arm and the vision goes funny for a minutes as the dye goes through. Photos are taken of the blood vessels as they fill with dye, and from what I was shown, can show if these small blood vessels are of normal shape, amount, spread and whether any damage or leakage of the vessels is present. It took about 10 minutes all up. I am not sure whether they put dilating drops in these days or not - it would be important to check, as you may not be able to drive home after dilating drops are instilled.
The after-effects - the eye looks orange where the whites of the eyes are, as does the urine passed after the procedure and the next 12 hours or so.
Straight after my fluoro angiogram I went back to work which happened to be the operating theatres of a hospital. As I walked into and through the lunchroom full of doctors no one picked up on the fact that I had orange eyes (I could have been jaundiced from hepatitis for all they knew). That made for a humorous conclusion to the test.
I hope your test is just as uneventful !!
And based on that, but not as professional advice or opinion:
The doctor injects fluoroscein, a dye that glows in light, into a vein and watches through the eye-port of the gadget to see when the dye comes through the small blood vessels in your eyes. The injection might burn a little in the arm and the vision goes funny for a minutes as the dye goes through. Photos are taken of the blood vessels as they fill with dye, and from what I was shown, can show if these small blood vessels are of normal shape, amount, spread and whether any damage or leakage of the vessels is present. It took about 10 minutes all up. I am not sure whether they put dilating drops in these days or not - it would be important to check, as you may not be able to drive home after dilating drops are instilled.
The after-effects - the eye looks orange where the whites of the eyes are, as does the urine passed after the procedure and the next 12 hours or so.
Straight after my fluoro angiogram I went back to work which happened to be the operating theatres of a hospital. As I walked into and through the lunchroom full of doctors no one picked up on the fact that I had orange eyes (I could have been jaundiced from hepatitis for all they knew). That made for a humorous conclusion to the test.
I hope your test is just as uneventful !!
kitedoc
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- 4,783
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
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- black jelly beans
Oh, and just to point out that when the dye is watered down it tends to go a fluoroscent green colour !
So please do not worry, no aliens or science fiction scenarios involved !!!
