Why previous injections or laser need their own record
Diabetic retinopathy affects the retina, and treatment options can include injections, laser or surgery depending on assessment. That means your history is not background detail. It is part of how a new clinician understands your current stage and what has already been tried.
A common mistake is to send a short note saying 'I had injections' or 'I had laser' without dates, eye, number of sessions or the response. The receiving team cannot interpret that reliably. They need to know whether the treatment was recent or years ago, whether it was for one eye or both, and whether your vision or retinal findings changed afterwards.
This is different from a first-visit general guide. You are not asking how to start eye care from scratch. You are asking how to hand over a specific treatment history so the next assessment is based on facts rather than assumptions.
What to include in a previous-treatment summary
Write a one-page summary in plain English. For each eye separately, state the diagnosis you were given, the date of diagnosis, and the name of the condition as your eye doctor described it. Then list each injection or laser session with the date, the eye treated, and the reason you were told it was needed.
Include the result in your own words: did vision improve, stay the same or worsen? Were you told the retina was stable, improving or still leaking? If you had side effects or complications, note them. If treatment was stopped or paused, say why.
Attach the actual reports where possible: retinal imaging, OCT scans, fluorescein angiography, injection logs and laser records. A summary without source documents is harder to verify. If you do not have a document, say so clearly rather than guessing.
Also include your current diabetes context: how long you have had diabetes, your most recent HbA1c if known, your blood pressure, and your current diabetes medicines. Do not change any medicine before speaking to your prescribing clinician.
Questions the receiving team will need to answer
Previous treatment does not tell the new team whether you need more treatment now. That depends on current retinal findings, your vision, your diabetes control and the assessment they perform. Ask them directly what they still need to confirm.
Useful questions include: Does my previous injection or laser history change what you would recommend now? Are there records you still need from my previous eye clinic? Do you need new retinal imaging before deciding anything? What are the alternatives if further treatment is considered? What are the risks and what is uncertain in my case?
Ask whether your previous treatment affects the safety or likely benefit of any option they discuss. Ask what would make them pause or choose a different route. Ask how they will monitor your eyes if no immediate procedure is planned.
These are clinical questions. The treating ophthalmologist decides suitability, and no outcome is guaranteed. Your job is to make sure they have the facts.
What previous treatment does not tell you
A history of injections or laser does not mean you need the same again. It also does not mean you are finished with eye care. Diabetic retinopathy can change over time, and ongoing follow-up matters even when you feel well.
It does not prove that a particular treatment will work for you now, and it does not replace a current retinal assessment. If your vision is worsening, you have new floaters, flashes or a sudden change, seek urgent local eye care rather than waiting for an overseas appointment.
It also does not tell you what a hospital in China will recommend, what it will charge or how it will schedule care. Those are provider-specific questions. Ask the named provider how its written estimate works and what is included, excluded or still undecided.
Be cautious about any service that promises a specific outcome, a fixed number of sessions or a guaranteed improvement based only on your history. No responsible clinician can guarantee an individual result.
Practical next step
Prepare a one-page eye-treatment history for each eye, attach the relevant reports, and write down your main question. Then send a brief summary through the enquiry route and ask what the receiving team still needs to confirm.
Before you send anything, decide what you actually want from the enquiry. There is a difference between asking whether a records-based opinion is possible, asking for a treatment plan, and asking for a cost estimate. Each request needs different documents and produces a different kind of answer. If you only want to know whether your history is complete enough for review, say that. If you want to know what a hospital might recommend, say that too, and accept that a recommendation may not be possible until the team sees you or reviews current imaging.
When you write the summary, keep it to one page per eye. Use plain headings: diagnosis, date, treatment received, result, current symptoms, current diabetes medicines. Do not bury the key fact in a long narrative. If your previous clinic used a term you do not understand, write the term exactly as it appears and add a question mark rather than guessing at a translation.
Ask what the receiving team still needs to confirm before it can give you a meaningful answer. That question is more useful than asking for a general opinion. It tells you whether the gap is a missing report, a missing current scan, a language issue or a clinical question that only an in-person assessment can settle.
If you have records in another language, ask whether a translation is needed and who should provide it. Do not assume a particular format is accepted. Confirm with the provider what it can read and what it needs translated. Keep copies of everything you send, and keep a list of what you have not yet been able to obtain.
An initial enquiry is free and does not require buying a proxy consultation. The hospital decides suitability after reviewing your records and, where needed, assessing you in person. If you want to understand the broader service context first, you can review the diabetic retinopathy care page before deciding whether to proceed.
Keep your local diabetes and eye care in place while you explore options. Do not delay urgent assessment for an overseas enquiry. If your vision changes suddenly, or you develop new floaters, flashes or a curtain across your vision, seek local urgent eye care rather than waiting for an overseas reply.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.