Eye Vein Removal

Red veins or red blotches in your eyes can be unsightly, may affect your vision and may be the result of underlying medial problems. To remove or treat these red veins or blotches, eye surgeons typically use a surgical procedure involving lasers to remove the vein.

Laser Surgery Explained

• In a simple sense, a laser is a high intensity beam of energy. Surgeons focus this light energy on the retina, focusing directly on the affected area without damaging the surrounding areas of the eye. The laser produces intense heat that will eliminate structures as well as bond tissue together. To remove veins on the surface of the eye, the surgeon can control the length and intensity of the beam.

Typical Patient and Causes

• According to Eyecenters.com, lasers have been used in the optometry practice for about 30 years, and have become a common practice in cosmetic surgery and vision correction. Despite your eye feeling normal, there may red blotches from underlying diseases that are causing your veins to become redder or causing red blotching in the eye. If you notice this, your optometrist should conduct a full retinal exam to determine if your eyes have proper circulation, and if not, surgery may suit you.

  Common reasons for laser surgery involve diabetic retinopathy, which is a vein circulation problem derivative of the body's overall circulation problems related to diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy may cause veins to leak or cause new veins to emerge. Removal of those veins is common or the optometrist may simply "seal" the vein. You may also have age related vein leakage, in which the doctor will perform similar procedures. Finally, you may have a fungus in your eyes that caused scarring and the creation of additional veins that are negatively affecting your vision. The optometrist will use the laser to remove those veins as well.

The Surgery and Recuperation

• There is no "preparation" for eye surgery other than the optometrist providing eye drops to numb your eyes. The surgery is painless and it takes about 30 minutes to complete. Your vision will be blurry after the surgery, but will return up to several weeks after the surgery. More often than not, patients will need additional treatments to remove veins should the underlying diseases cause additional veins to grow in the eyes or existing veins to leak.