"How a Diabetes Complication Nearly Cost A Young Artist Her Eyesight"
Sitting at a restaurant earlier this year, Alexandria White saw black spots float across her left eye. At first, she thought she stared into the light for too long. When the flecks didn’t dissipate, she started worrying. White, who said she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was two, knows it's especially important for her to be proactive about her health. She monitors her blood sugar, uses insulin pens and visits an eye doctor annually. White learned she had diabetic retinopathy, a condition where blood vessels in the eye become abnormal and “break easily and cause bleeding in the eyes,” said Gennady Landa, MD, associate professor of ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Landa added, “When you have diabetic retinopathy in young patients like Alexandria, it is very aggressive. She had a lot of abnormal blood vessels growing in her retina.” Dr. Landa was able to restore Alexandria White's vision after two procedures where he removed scarring from diabetic retinopathy.
— Gennady Landa, MD, Associate Professor, Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Faculty, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai
Additional coverage: MSN Health & Fitness