Retinal Detachment

What is Retinal Detachment?

Retinal Detachment is a serious condition where the retina detaches and is moved from its original position. If left without treatment, permanent vision loss will occur.

Symptoms of Retinal Detachment

Symptoms of retinal detachment may include the presence of increased eye floaters, light flashes, watery vision, a veil or curtain blocking your vision, or a sudden dramatic decrease of vision. Patients with these symptoms should contact their eye doctor immediately and be seen for an exam the same day if possible The sooner a retinal detachment is diagnosed, the better the chances of saving vision.

Retinal Detachment Treatment and Prevention

Pneumatic retinopexy is a treatment where a small gas bubble is injected into the eye. The gas bubble pushes the retina back into place. The bubble eventually dissolves and the retina has to be held in place by either cryotherapy, the use of nitrous oxide to freeze the retina in place, or laser to weld the retina back in normal position.In cases where these treatments do not work, another treatment using silicone oil to replace the vitreous gel can be performed. This process has many different results and more information can be found about the NEI supported clinical trials at http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/static/study39.htm.

For more information on retinal detachment visit your eye care doctor or visit http://www.nei.nih.gov for more research. Materials on this page have been researched from the national Eye Institute.