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Retinal Detachment

It is a painless but serious eye condition. It happens when your retina, the layer of tissue at the back of your eye, detaches from the tissues that support it. A detached retina affects your vision and can lead to blindness.

Symptoms of a detached retina can happen suddenly and include:

Seeing flashes of light

Seeing a lot of floaters
- flecks, threads, dark
spots and squiggly
lines that drift across
your vision.
(Seeing a few here and
there is normal and
not cause for alarm)

Darkening of your
Peripheral vision

Darkening or shadow
covering part of your
vision

Risk factors and causes for detached retina include:

Ageing

Eye injury

Having a previous retinal detachment or a family history of retinal detachment

Having a previous eye surgery

Being very near-sighted

Posterior vitreous detachment, where the thick fluid in the middle of the eye (vitreous) pulls away from the retina

Other conditions that affect your retina or choroid, like lattice degeneration (retina thinning) or diabetes-related retinopathy

Certain inherited eye disorders

A history of retinal tears or detachments in the other eye

Treatment

Your retina surgeon will discuss treatment options with you. You may need a combination of treatments for the best results.

• Laser therapy or cryopexy
• Pneumatic (gas bubble) retinopexy
• Scleral buckle
• Vitrectomy

Laser (thermal) therapy or cryopexy (freezing)
Sometimes, your retina surgeon will diagnose a retinal tear before the retina starts pulling away. Your retina surgeon uses a medical laser or a freezing tool to seal the tear. These devices create a scar that holds the retina in place.

Pneumatic retinopexy
During pneumatic retinopexy:

  • Your retina surgeon injects a small gas bubble into the eye
  • The bubble presses against the retina, closing the tear
  • The surgeon then uses laser or cryopexy (freezing) to seal the tear
  • The retina then reabsorbs the fluid that is collected under your eyes, and it now sticks back to the wall the way that it should. Eventually, the gas bubble gets absorbed


After surgery, the surgeon will recommend that you keep your head still for a few days to promote healing. The surgeon will also tell you what position you should lie in or sleep in.


These recommendations may seem uncomfortable or annoying, but they’re particularly important.
It’s a short-term sacrifice for long-term benefits.

Scleral buckle
During a scleral buckle surgery:

• The surgeon surgically places a silicone band or sponge (buckle) around the eye
• The band holds the retina in place and stays there permanently. You can’t see the band
• The tear is sealed off with a laser or cryopexy
• Gas may be injected, or fluid may be drained to help the retina to reattach

Vitrectomy
During a vitrectomy, your surgeon:

• Surgically removes the vitreous, gel-like substance in the back portion of the eye
• Uses laser or freezing to seal all retinal tears or holes
• Places a bubble of air, gas or oil in the eye to push the retina back in place

If the surgeon uses an oil bubble, you’ll have it removed a few months later. Your body reabsorbs gas and air bubbles. If you have a gas bubble, you may have to avoid activities at certain altitudes. The altitude change can increase the size of the gas bubble and the pressure in your eye.
You’ll have to avoid flying and travelling to high altitudes. Your surgeon will tell you when you can start these activities again.

Success Rates

In general, surgery for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is highly successful – the repair works about nine out of 10 times. Sometimes, people need more than one procedure to return the retina to its place. It’s possible to get a detached retina more than once. You may need a second surgery if this happens.

Retinal detachment is a painless but serious condition. If you notice detached retina symptoms – a sudden increase in eye floaters, flashes of light or darkening of your vision – get care right away. Waiting even days for treatment could mean permanent loss of vision. After surgery, it’s important to continue taking care of your eyesight by following your surgeon’s instructions.

Complications / side effects of treating retinal detachment

While surgery to reattach your retina is often very successful, any surgery can have risks or complications. These risks and complications include:
• Bleeding
• Infection
• Higher pressure in your eye (intraocular pressure)
• The chance that you may need another surgery

Membranes that form after surgery can shrink and pull tissues out of place. The name for this is proliferative retinopathy or epiretinal membrane.
Rapid cataract formation that requires additional cataract surgery.

After treatment for a detached retina, you may have some discomfort. Your surgeon will discuss pain medicine and other forms of relief. You’ll also need to take it easy for a few weeks. Talk with your surgeon about when you can exercise, drive and get back to your regular activities.

Other things you can expect after surgery
  • Eye patch: Wear the eye patch/protective glasses for as long as your surgeon tells you to do so.
  • Head position: If your surgeon puts a bubble in your eye, follow instructions for your head position. Your surgeon will let you know the position your head should be in and how long to keep it there to help heal your eye.
  • Eye drops: Your surgeon will instruct you on how to use the drops to help your eye heal.
  • Improved vision: About four to six weeks after surgery, you’ll start to notice your eyesight improving.
    It may take a few months until you notice the full effects.
Prevention

You can’t prevent rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, but you can take steps to lower your risk:

  • Get regular eye care: Eye exams protect your eye health. If you have near-sightedness, eye exams are especially important. Myopia makes you more prone to retinal detachment. Your eye care provider should include dilated exams to find small retinal tears.
  • Stay safe: Use safety goggles or other protection for your eyes when playing sports or doing other risky activities.
  • Get prompt treatment: If you notice detached retina symptoms, see your eye care provider right away or go to the emergency room.
  • Maintain your overall health: Manage chronic conditions, eat balanced meals and get regular exercise.

Your prognosis depends on factors like how clear your vision was before the retinal detachment, the duration between when you have the detachment and when you eventually undergo surgery, how extensive your detachment was and if there are any other complicating factors. Your surgeon will talk to you about what type of vision improvement you can expect.

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Get Directions
  • Monday to Saturday: 8 am to 7.30 pm, Sunday: Closed
  • To book an appointment, call – 020 6609 9888
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