Bulk-billing eye injection clinic in Melbourne

• We accept patients who already receive eye injections to treat a medical condition or who have a current referral to receive eye injections.
• Patient care is provided by renowned retinal specialist Dr Devinder Chauhan and his highly trained clinical team.
• Patient comfort during the injection is a priority – we use a combination of numbing drops and gentle technique.
• Our clinic is located within the Melbourne Eastern Healthcare facility (ground floor, free parking, onsite café, easy access to Eastlink).
• Appointments (including the consultation, scan and injection) take around 30 to 40 minutes in total, with minimal waiting time.
• We bulk bill so there are no out-of-pocket fees for consultations and scans.
• Only out-of-pocket cost is the PBS medication co-payment (up to $41, or $6.60 with a concession card*).

We have strict COVID safety measures permanently in place, including strict infection control and social distancing protocols.

*As of 1 January 2020. Australian Government Department of Health. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Canberra, ACT: DoH, 2020. Available at www.pbs.gov.au/info/about-the-pbs [Accessed online 18 November 2020].

An eye injection (also called an intravitreal injection or IVI) is a procedure where medication is injected inside the eye into the vitreous. The vitreous is the jelly-like substance that fills the inside of your eye.

Eye injections are used to prevent, and potentially reverse, vision loss due to macular swelling. The macula is the part of your retina that is responsible for your central vision.

There are different medications used, but they all have the same aim – to stop bleeding and fluid leakage from blood vessels. These cause the macula to swell.

The specific medication your doctor uses will depend on your condition and how you respond to treatment. Sometimes, your doctor may suggest a different medication to see if you have a better response.

If you have any questions about your treatment, speak to your doctor.

This will depend on the condition being treated as well as how you respond to the treatment. OCT scans are performed at each appointment to monitor your retina for signs of bleeding and fluid leakage from blood vessels. These cause swelling of the macula, which can impair your central vision.

Injections are usually started on a 4-weekly schedule, which is then adjusted according to the results of the OCT scans. If the swelling has reduced but remains, the treatment frequency is likely to stay the same.

If the swelling resolves, your doctor may try reducing the injection frequency while continuing to monitor your retina with OCT scans. Sometimes, your injections may have been reduced or even stopped but need to be increased or started again because the swelling has returned.

It’s important to keep having eye injections for as long they are recommended by your doctor. Stopping treatment against medical advice could put your sight at risk, and any further vision loss may be irreversible.

If you have any questions about your treatment, speak to your doctor.

If your doctor has determined that eye injections are the best treatment for your condition, it is important to continue with them as often as recommended. Stopping treatment against your doctor’s advice could put your sight at risk, and any further vision loss may be irreversible.

If you have any questions about your treatment, speak to your doctor.

Although your vision may not have improved with the eye injections, the medication helps to preserve the vision you do have left. Stopping the eye injections against your doctor’s advice could put you at risk of losing further sight, which may be irreversible.

If you have any questions about your treatment, speak to your doctor.

Previous studies have shown some evidence for a particular supplement formulation (the AREDS supplement) in people diagnosed with AMD.¹ However, it was only effective in intermediate-to-late stages and it only slowed progression of the disease. It is not a cure for AMD and it does not restore vision. Your doctor will advise if the AREDS supplement is recommended for you.

Normal multivitamins and any other vitamin supplements that claim to support macula health have not been proven to be beneficial in treating AMD.

On the other hand, quitting smoking and eating an eye-friendly diet is recommended for all patients.

The right balance of nutrients can stop the development or slow the progression of eye diseases (including macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion and diabetic retinopathy).

This means eating foods high in:

• omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
• leafy greens (spinach, kale, cavolo nero, swiss chard)
• brightly coloured fruits (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries)
• yellow and orange vegetables (yellow capsicum, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato)
• nuts and seeds.

1. Supplements. Macular Disease Foundation Australia. Available at https://www.mdfoundation.com.au/content/supplements-macular-degeneration [Accessed online 11 November 2020].

Glasses are used to correct focusing errors due to abnormalities with the cornea or lens at the front of the eye. They can treat refractive errors such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism or presbyopia, where light rays are not focused directly onto the retina at the back of the eye as they should be.

However, conditions such as AMD, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion affect the retina’s ability to convert light rays into electrical signals that are sent to the brain for processing.

This means getting new glasses will not restore vision that has been lost due to a retinal or macular condition.

This will depend on your situation as there are many factors to take into consideration when a patient has both cataracts and a macular or retinal condition.

Depending on their size, cataracts may obstruct the view of your retina. Removing them may help improve the quality of OCT scans as well as your doctor’s ability to see the retina during the slit-lamp examination. Therefore, cataract surgery may be recommended to aid the monitoring and treatment of your retinal condition.

However, cataract surgery carries higher risks in patients with a co-existing retinal condition. It requires careful planning and management before, during and after the surgery.

Your doctor will discuss the benefits and risks of cataract surgery with you. If the expected visual outcome is unlikely to change after cataract removal, the surgery may not be recommended.

Speak to your doctor for advice specific to your situation.

Although your blood sugar levels may be under control, people with diabetes can still develop sight-threatening diabetic eye disease and there are usually no warning signs in the early stages of the condition.

That’s why it’s important to have regular eye checks and OCT scans if you have been diagnosed with diabetes.

If there are signs of macula swelling on the OCT scan, your doctor will recommend eye injections to treat the swelling and protect your vision.

Stopping eye injections against your doctor’s advice could put you at risk of losing further sight, which may be irreversible.

If you have any questions about your treatment, speak to your doctor.

Temporary side-effects from eye injections can include redness and swelling, increased sensitivity to light, blurred vision, dry eyes and watery eyes.

There is a low risk of serious complications (less than 1 in 1000¹), which is generally outweighed by the benefit of having the treatment. Serious complications include retinal detachment and endophthalmitis (inflammation inside the eye).

Symptoms of retinal detachment include floating spots or lines and flashes of light, blurry vision, gradually diminishing side vision and a curtain-like shadow coming down over your visual field.

Symptoms of endophthalmitis include increasing or severe eye pain, increasing redness of your eye, worsening vision, headache and eyelid swelling.

If you think you have symptoms of retinal detachment or endophthalmitis, or your eye becomes increasingly painful following an eye injection, contact your ophthalmologist or local eye emergency department right away.
DO NOT WAIT until the next day or a convenient time.

Make sure you have the correct emergency contact numbers BEFORE you leave the clinic. Save these numbers on your mobile phone for quick access.

Speak to your doctor for further information about the risks or side-effects of eye injections.

1. RANZCO Guidelines for Performing Intravitreal Therapy. Available at https://bit.ly/2WRVExO [accessed online 9 November 2020].

Injections into the eye are not painful because your eye will feel numb from the anaesthetic drops administered by the orthoptist. However, you may feel a bit of discomfort – most patients describe feeling slight pressure on their eye.

No, you will need to have someone else drive you home after your eye injection. It is best if you keep your eyes closed for a couple of hours after the injection to stop them from drying out and feeling uncomfortable.

While sitting in a chair or lying on a trolley, you will be asked to look at a specially marked target, usually on the ceiling – this helps you stay focused and keep your eye steady.

The doctor will gently hold your eyelids open using their fingers and perform the injection quickly using a tiny needle.