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Evaluation and Diagnosis

A patient with macular degeneration should have regular eye exams by an ophthalmologist who has been trained to detect many vision-threatening conditions, even before symptom develop.The earlier problems are detected, the better the chance of preventing vision loss.

If an ophthalmologist suspects age-related macular degeneration, he or she may do the following:

• Perform a visual acuity test to measure vision at a distance.

• Perform a dilated pupil examination with an ophthalmoscope to check for drusen. The patient will be asked to look at an Amsler grid with a pattern of straight horizontal and vertical lines. To a person with macular degeneration, the lines appear wavy, distorted or missing, or a black spot may appear in the center of the grid.

• Perform a fluorescein angiography. During this test, dye is injected into the arm and quickly travels throughout the blood system. Once the dye reaches the blood vessels in the back of the eye, photographs are taken. The dye allows the ophthalmologist to detect abnormal blood vessels.

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