Functional consequences of focal photocoagulation in diabetic macular edema

We studied the iatrogenic effect of focal photocoagulation in the treatment of diabetic macular edema in 74 eyes followed from 1 to 6 months. We measured visual acuity, Amsler test and static perimetry, before and after photocoagulation. In the same periods we obtained retinographies. One month after photocoagulation visual acuity was the same or better in 97.2% of the patients followed and after six months in 95.5%. Hard exudates diminished or disappeared in 48.5% of the patients in the first month, in 77.2% in the third month and in 82.4% of the patients followed during six months. In the analysis of static perimetry we found that 33% of the patients showed absolute scotomas, 40% of the patients showed relative scotomas related to photocoagulation areas. The exploration with Amsler test showed that 9% of the patients had absolute scotomas and 41% relative scotomas.