Fundus fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography are often recommended to find and diagnose eye disease including:

• Macular edema (swelling in the retina that distorts vision)
• Diabetic retinopathy (damaged or abnormal blood vessels in the eye caused by diabetes)
• Macular degeneration
• Blockage of veins inside the eye, called branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO)
• Ocular melanoma (a type of cancer affecting the eye)

Fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography are also used to:

• Track changes in eye disease over time

Target treatment areas

1. Take only a light meal before fluorescein or indocyanine green injection as it may cause nausea.
2. You should be accompanied by a friend or relative as your pupil will be dilated.

1. Special drops will be put into your eye to make your pupil dilate (open).
2. Your ophthalmologist or an assistant will insert a small needle into a vein in your arm. Only 1 dye (either fluorescein or indocyanine green dye) or both of them will be injected, depending on your suspected problem.
3. A special camera will take pictures of your retina. The camera will shine a dim light into your eye, which causes the dye traveling through the blood vessels in the retina and choroid to appear on the screen.
4. A series of pictures will be taken, for your ophthalmologist to review later.

1. Drink plenty of water to help flush the dye out through your kidneys.
2. Your vision may be blurry due to the dilating eye drops. Please be aware of fall risks.
3. You should have someone accompany you.
4. Your vital signs assessment will be performed by a nurse before going home.
5. See a doctor if you have any of these symptoms: blurred vision due to the dilating eye drops, eye pain, skin rash, pain at the injection site.

You may experience some of the following symptoms after fundus angiography:

1. Your eyes may be sensitive to light due to the dilation of your pupils. You should bring sunglasses with you to your appointment.
2. Your vision may be blurry due to the eye drops you received. You will need someone to drive you home afterwards.
3. Your vision may appear darker or have a colored tint afterwards. This will last only a few minutes.
4. After the fluorescein dye is injected, your skin may turn yellowish for several hours.
5. Because your kidneys remove the dye from the body, your urine will turn dark orange or yellow for up to 24 hours following the test.
6. You may feel a burn on your skin if the dye leaks during the injection. This side effect goes away in a few minutes.

 

Allergic reactions to fluorescein and indocyanine green dye are rare. However, the indocyanine green dye contains iodine, patients with a history of seafood allergy must be aware of allergic reactions. If they occur, they may cause skin rash, itchy skin, or difficulty breathing. These symptoms are usually treated with oral or injectable antihistamines, depending on the severity of the symptoms.
 

There are no limitations for travel before or after the procedure.

 

The likelihood of success depends on the condition of disease and other complications such as mature cataract as well as the patient’s compliance.
 
What if this procedure is not performed?
Your condition may not be diagnosed and profoundly treated. Please consult your ophthalmologist.
 

Optical coherence tomography (OCT). Please consult your ophthalmologist.