Procedures
What is retinal detachment and why is it so dangerous? A retinal detachment is a serious and sight-threatening event, occurring when the retina – the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eye – becomes separated from its underlying supportive tissue.
Nutrition
No, it is not possible for retinal detachment to heal on its own. Treatment for retinal detachment requires surgery to reattach the retina to the back of the eye and restore blood supply to the retina, which the eye will not do on its own. However, minor retinal tears can sometimes form scar tissue at the border of the torn retina that can keep a small tear from worsening. In such cases, surgery may not be required.
What is retinal detachment and why is it so dangerous?
This includes:
- Injections of anti-VEGF drugs into the eyeball (intravitreal injections) to prevent the growth of the new blood vessels.
- Intravitreal injections of corticosteroid drugs that reduce the swelling (edema).
- Laser therapy burns and seals off blood vessels near the macula and keeps them from leaking.
Can a retinal detachment heal on its own?
There are no non-surgical treatments for retinal tears or retinal detachment. Fortunately, however, many retinal detachment surgeries can be performed on an outpatient basis, with no need for general anesthesia. Depending on the extent of your injury, you are likely to need one of these surgeries performed:
How to cure retinal detachment naturally?
Are there any cures for retinal detachment?
How do doctors treat retinal detachment?
In most cases, surgery is necessary to repair a detached retina. In other cases of minor detachments or tears of the retina, a simple procedure may be done in your doctor's office. For tears of the retina, laser surgery (photocoagulation) and freezing (cryopexy) are the most common treatment options.
What are two common treatments for retinal detachment?
Retinal Detachment TreatmentLaser (thermal) or freezing (cryopexy). Both methods can repair a tear if it's diagnosed early enough. ... Pneumatic retinopexy. This works well for a tear that's small and easy to close. ... Scleral buckle. ... Vitrectomy.
Can a detached retina heal on its own?
Can a detached retina heal on its own? Very rarely, retinal detachments are not noticed by the patient and can heal on their own. The vast majority of retinal detachments progress to irreversible vision loss if left untreated so it is important to monitor any changes noticed in your vision.
What is the most common cause of retinal detachment?
Aging is the most common cause of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. As you get older, the vitreous in your eye may change in texture and may shrink. Sometimes, as it shrinks, the vitreous can pull on your retina and tear it.
How quickly should a detached retina be treated?
If your retina has detached, you'll need surgery to repair it, preferably within days of a diagnosis. The type of surgery your surgeon recommends will depend on several factors, including how severe the detachment is.
How long can you wait to have surgery for a detached retina?
If the macula detaches, it is too late to restore normal vision. Surgery can still be done to prevent total blindness. In these cases, eye doctors can wait a week to 10 days to schedule surgery.
How urgent is a detached retina?
Retinal detachment is a potential medical emergency that can be corrected if it is caught early. However, if medical treatment is delayed too long, then it could lead to permanent damage that affects your sight or even causes blindness in the affected eye.
What are the warning signs of a detached retina?
Detached retina (retinal detachment)dots or lines (floaters) suddenly appear in your vision or suddenly increase in number.you get flashes of light in your vision.you have a dark "curtain" or shadow moving across your vision.your vision gets suddenly blurred.
What worsens retinal detachment?
Risk factors Family history of retinal detachment. Extreme nearsightedness (myopia) Previous eye surgery, such as cataract removal. Previous severe eye injury.
How long can a detached retina go untreated?
Patients with macula off detachments wait a mean of 2.6 weeks (+/-0.3 SE mean) before presentation and 1.8 weeks (+/-0.2 SE of mean) thereafter before surgery. The mean duration of detachment prior to surgical repair was 4.2 weeks (+/-0.3 SE mean). 78% of patients achieved a postoperative improvement in visual acuity.
What can you not do with a detached retina?
Do not lie on your back. The bubble will move to the front of the eye and press against the lens instead of the retina. Airplane travel is dangerous. This is because the change in altitude may cause the gas bubble to expand and increase the pressure inside the eye.
Can rubbing your eye cause detached retina?
Believe it or not, eye rubbing can lead to big problems if you do it often. Here are a few concerns ophthalmologists have. Retinal detachment. If your retina is weakened due to a pre-existing condition, (i.e., progressive myopia) rubbing could place more pressure on the retina and cause it to detach.
What is retinal detachment?
Retinal detachment is an eye problem that happens when your retina (a light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye) is pulled away from its normal position at the back of your eye.
What are the different types of retinal detachment?
There are 3 types of retinal detachment: rhegmatogenous, tractional, and exudative. Each type happens because of a different problem that causes your retina to move away from the back of your eye. Learn more about what causes each type of retinal detachment.
How to move retina back into place?
Surgery. If a larger part of your retina is detached from the back of your eye, you may need surgery to move your retina back into place. You may need to get these surgeries in a hospital. Treatment for retinal detachment works well, especially if the detachment is caught early.
What is a dark shadow on the side of your eye?
A dark shadow or “curtain” on the sides or in the middle of your field of vision. Retinal detachment is a medical emergency. If you have symptoms of a detached retina, it’s important to go to your eye doctor or the emergency room right away. The symptoms of retinal detachment often come on quickly. If the retinal detachment isn’t treated right ...
How to prevent permanent vision loss?
Early treatment can help prevent permanent vision loss. It’s also important to get comprehensive dilated eye exams regularly. A dilated eye exam can help your eye doctor find a small retinal tear or detachment early, before it starts to affect your vision.
What to expect after a dilated eye exam?
Learn what to expect from a dilated eye exam. If your eye doctor still needs more information after a dilated eye exam, you may get an ultrasound or an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan of your eye. Both of these tests are painless and can help your eye doctor see the exact position of your retina.
What is the term for the condition where the blood vessels in the retina are affected?
Diabetic retinopathy (a condition in people with diabetes that affects blood vessels in the retina) Extreme nearsightedness (myopia), especially a severe type called degenerative myopia. Posterior vitreous detachment (when the gel-like fluid in the center of the eye pulls away from the retina)
What type of surgery is needed to fix a detached retina?
There are 3 types of surgery that doctors can do to fix a detached retina: Pneumatic retinopexy (“noo-mat-ick RET-ih-no-pek-see”) Scleral buckle. Vitrectomy. The type of surgery you need will depend on several things, including how much of your retina is detached and where in your eye it detached.
How long does it take to reattach a detached retina?
If you have a retinal detachment, you may need surgery to reattach your retina to the back of your eye within a few days. After surgery, you may need to stay in the hospital for a short time — and it might take a few weeks before your vision starts getting better. There are 3 types of surgery that doctors can do to fix a detached retina: ...
How to heal a swollen eye?
After the surgery, you’ll need to: 1 Hold your head in a certain position for several days to keep the air bubble in the right spot 2 Avoid some activities — like flying in an airplane, intense exercise, and heavy lifting — while your eye heals 3 Have a follow-up visit with your doctor to make sure your eye is healing
How to fix a hole in your retina?
Put numbing medicine in your eye. Insert a tiny needle into your eye and remove a small amount of fluid . Inject a small amount of air into your eye. Use laser or freeze treatment to repair any holes or tears in your retina. You’ll be able to see the air bubble in your peripheral (side) vision after the surgery.
Can you have more than one retinal surgery?
Some people may need more than one type of surgery at once . During the surgery, your doctor may also use laser or freeze treatments to repair tears or holes in your retina and help hold your retina in place after surgery. Learn more about laser surgery and freeze treatment.
Can you see bubbles in your eyes after a retinal surgery?
You can usually get this surgery in your doctor’s office. You’ll be able to see the air bubble in your peripheral (side) vision after the surgery.
Can you go home after eye surgery?
You won’t feel anything or remember the surgery. Most people can go home the same day, but you’ll need someone to drive you home. After the surgery, your eye may feel a little sore. You’ll need to: Wear a patch over your eye for about a day.
How to treat retinal tear?
Ophthalmologists occasionally perform cryotherapy if the location of the tear makes it difficult to perform laser photocoagulation. Laser photocoagulation and cryotherapy can also be used to treat a retinal detachment and prevent it from becoming bigger.
What is the procedure to tear the retina?
With retinal tears, the procedure prevents fluid from traveling underneath the retina, where it can cause detachment. After this relatively painless procedure, your surgeon may administer a topical steroid to prevent inflammation.
What is the procedure to remove vitreous gel?
Vitrectomy. During a vitrectomy, your doctor makes an incision in the sclera of the eye and inserts an instrument to remove the vitreous gel. After the vitreous is removed, your doctor may treat the retina with photocoagulation or cryotherapy to seal the tear.
How long does a scleral buckle last?
Surgery usually lasts two hours.
What happens after retinal surgery?
Some people become more prone to developing a cataract after retinal surgery because surgery can trigger changes in the lens of the eye.
How long does a numbing eye procedure last?
Your doctor then injects a small amount of intraocular gas into the vitreous. The gas lasts for several days and gently pushes the retina against the back of the eye.
Can you have two surgeries for retinal detachment?
Retinal surgery has a high success rate, and for most people vision is preserved. However, in some people , there may be a recurrence of retinal detachment that may require two or more surgeries to treat.
How Serious is a Detached Retina?
Retinal detachment is a medical emergency and requires immediate attention. Left untreated, even for a short time, can result in blindness.
Who is at Risk for Retinal Detachment?
Anyone can experience retinal detachment, but some people have a higher risk.
What Causes a Detached Retina?
The cause of retinal detachment varies from person to person. It is often linked to other health concerns, including:
Diagnosing & Treating Retinal Detachment
A doctor must diagnose and treat retinal detachment. Tests used to diagnose detachment include:
How to Prevent Retinal Detachment
There is no way to prevent retinal detachment. However, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk.
Laser surgery
During laser treatment for a retinal detachment, we numb your eye with drops and use a laser to create tiny burns around the edges of a retinal tear. Scar tissue forms, which creates a barrier and attaches the retina to the back wall of your eye.
Cryopexy
Cryopexy is similar to laser treatment. We use numbing eye drops, but instead of using heat to stimulate scar tissue, cryopexy uses extremely cold temperatures to reattach your retina.
Pneumatic retinopexy
We often combine laser or cryopexy with pneumatic retinopexy. We inject a small air bubble into your affected eye after treating your retina. The air bubble helps hold your retina in place, reducing your risk of future tears.
Scleral buckle
A scleral buckle is a thin band that fits around the white part (the sclera) of your eye. The buckle puts gentle pressure on the sides of your eye, which helps push your retina back into place and keep it there.
Vitrectomy
The vitreous is the gel that fills the inside of your eyeballs. When you have a retinal tear or detachment, it causes clumps of proteins to form in your vitreous, causing floaters. During a vitrectomy, we carefully remove most of your vitreous fluid. Then, we can either fill your eye with a clear liquid like silicone oil or a gas bubble.
How do I know which retinal detachment treatment is right for me?
One of our ophthalmologists examines your eye to assess your retinal tear before making a recommendation. The severity of your condition determines which treatment is most likely to repair your eye and prevent vision loss.
What is retinal detachment?
Retinal detachment describes an emergency situation in which a critical layer of tissue (the retina) at the back of the eye pulls away from the layer of blood vessels that provides it with oxygen and nutrients. Retinal detachment is often accompanied by flashes and floaters in your vision. Retinal detachment describes an emergency ...
What causes a detachment of the retina?
Exudative detachment can be caused by age-related macular degeneration, injury to the eye, tumors or inflammatory disorders.
What causes the retina to pull away from the back of the eye?
This type of detachment can occur when scar tissue grows on the retina's surface , causing the retina to pull away from the back of the eye. Tractional detachment is typically seen in people who have poorly controlled diabetes or other conditions. Exudative.
Can eye floaters cause retinal tears?
Eye floaters are more common as you get older and if you 're nearsighted. The biggest concern – they can cause retinal tears. "If a tear develops in the retina, fluid can get in underneath that tear and just lift the retina off like wallpaper off a wall," says Dr. Khan. "And that's a retinal detachment.".
How long does it take to cure a retina tear?
The goal is to keep fluid from going through the tear and detaching the retina. This treatment usually takes less than 30 minutes. It may be done right in your ophthalmologist’s office.
How long does it take to get a retinal tear removed?
The goal is to keep fluid from going through the tear and detaching the retina. The treatment usually takes less than 15 minutes. It may be done right in your ophthalmologist’s office.
How does a laser eye surgery work?
It may be done right in your ophthalmologist’s office. Your ophthalmologist puts a lens on the front of your eye to focus the laser. He or she then makes tiny burns with the laser to form scars. The scars seal the retina to the wall of the eye.
How long after eye surgery can you wear a patch?
You may need to wear an eye patch after surgery. Be sure to wear it as long as your doctor tells you to. You might see floaters and flashing lights for a few weeks after surgery.
Is retinal tear surgery dangerous?
Like any surgery, retinal tear surgery has risks. Following are some of these risks. Eye infection. Bleeding in your eye. Increased pressure inside the eye, which can lead to glaucoma. Cataract, when the lens in your eye becomes cloudy. The need for a second surgery.
