Anti-VEGF Injections: How They Work and Why They Save Sight

Before anti-VEGF therapy, a diagnosis of wet macular degeneration usually meant progressive, permanent central vision loss. Today, most patients who begin treatment early keep their vision — and many gain some back.

What VEGF Is

VEGF stands for vascular endothelial growth factor, a protein your body produces to build new blood vessels. In a healthy eye it does little harm. In a diseased retina, too much VEGF triggers fragile, abnormal vessels that leak fluid and blood into the macula, blurring and distorting central vision.

Anti-VEGF medications block that protein. With the signal switched off, leaking vessels dry up, swelling recedes, and the retina has a chance to recover.

Conditions Treated

• Wet age-related macular degeneration
• Diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy
• Retinal vein occlusion with macular swelling
• Certain cases of myopic choroidal neovascularization

The Injection Itself

The procedure takes only a few minutes. Your eye is numbed with anesthetic drops or gel and cleaned with an antiseptic solution. A small lid holder keeps you from blinking, and the medication is delivered through a very fine needle into the vitreous gel. Most patients describe pressure rather than pain.

Afterward you may notice a gritty feeling, a small red spot on the white of the eye, or a few new floaters as the medication disperses. These typically resolve within a day or two.

Why the Schedule Matters

Anti-VEGF medication wears off. Early in treatment, injections are usually given every four to six weeks to dry the retina completely. Once the disease is stable, Dr. Garg may extend the interval gradually — an approach called treat-and-extend — while monitoring with OCT imaging at each visit.

Skipping or delaying injections is the most common reason vision is lost during treatment. Fluid returns quietly, often before you notice symptoms, and repeated cycles of swelling scar the macula. If transportation, cost, or scheduling is making it hard to keep appointments, tell our team — we would far rather solve the logistics than lose ground.

What Results Look Like

Most patients see stabilization within the first three injections, and a meaningful share gain lines of vision. Success is measured not only by the eye chart but by whether you can still read, drive, and recognize faces.

Safety

Serious complications are rare. The risk of infection inside the eye is roughly one in several thousand injections, which is why sterile technique is used every time. Call us immediately if you develop increasing pain, worsening redness, or decreasing vision in the days after an injection.

To discuss whether anti-VEGF therapy is right for you, call (954) 633-8202.