What is Cystoid Macular Edema?

The macula is the part of the retina that helps us see fine detail, faraway objects, and color. Cystoid Macular Edema (CME) is a painless disorder in which swelling develops in the macula. As the swelling increases, multiple fluid filled cysts develop in the macula.

Symptoms of Macular Edema

 It’s a painless condition and usually asymptomatic in the early stages. Patients may later develop

• Blurred or wavy central vision
• Colors may appear different
• May experience difficulty in reading

Causes of Cystoid Macular Edema

• Recent eye surgery (particularly cataract surgery)
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Uveitis
• Retinal vascular disease
• Age related macular degeneration
• Injury to the eye
• Side effects of medications

Cystoid Macular Edema Risk Factors

• Surgical causes (following eye surgery)
• Metabolic conditions (diabetes)
• Blood vessel diseases (vein occlusion/blockage)
• Aging (macular degeneration)
• Traction on the macula (macular hole, macular pucker, and vitreomacular traction)
• Inflammatory conditions (sarcoidosis, uveitis)

Macular Edema Diagnosis

A routine dilated fundus examination by the ophthalmologist aids in the diagnosis. Further tests can be ordered to document and measure the thickness of the macula.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT):

• It scans the retina and provides very detailed images of its thickness. This helps your doctor find leakage and measure swelling of the macula.It can also be used to follow the response to treatment

Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA):

• For this test, fluorescein dye is injected into a peripheral vein in the hand or forearm. A series of photographs is taken of the retina as the dye passes through its blood vessels