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Fluorescein angiography

What is fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA)?

A fundus fluoresecien angiogram is an examination of the back of the eye using a special injected dye (sodium fluorescein). As the dye circulates, photographs are taken. The images produced help the doctor to diagnosis disease and determine the appropriate treatment. The test takes about 20mins.

What happens before the test?

If you have been told that you are going to have the test before you come to hospital, it is important that you don't drive or operate machinery as you will be given eye drops to dilate your pupils.

Once the drops are given, it takes some time for your sight to return to normal. It's also a good idea to bring some sunglasses with you as a dilated pupil lets in a lot of light into the eye and this can be uncomfortable in daylight.

The doctor will give you a preliminary examination of your eyes after which they will ask a nurse to put some drops into your eye to dilate your pupils.

This will help the doctor and photographer to see into the back of your eye more clearly. The drops take 20–30 mins to work.

After examining your dilated eye, the doctor will ask you if you are allergic to anything. It is important to inform the doctor of any condition or allergy you may have.

The doctor will discuss the test and its possible side effects. If you are in agreement, he will then ask you to sign a consent form for the dye test to take place.

What is involved in the dye test?

The photographer will position you on the camera and will take a normal colour photograph of the back of the eye. After the photographs are taken, the doctor will inject a yellow/orange dye, into a vein in your arm.

The dye circulates around the body, eventually arriving at the very fine blood vessels at the back of the eye. The dye takes about 10-15 seconds from the start of the injection to reach this stage (early stage). As the dye enters the vessels, photographs are taken every few seconds until all the vessels are filled. This sequence lasts approx one minute.

Once all the vessels are filled, the number of photographs taken is reduced to one every 10-20 seconds This lasts for approx 2-3 minutes (mid phase).

There is a break in the test for 6-10 minutes, after which, a few photographs are taken, (late phase). The test is then complete.

What happens after the test?

The doctor will ask you to sit outside in the waiting area. He will discuss the test results with the consultant and will either call in you for a discussion on the results or this will be done at a later appointment.