What Is a Retinal Detachment?

A detached retina is an eye emergency that threatens your vision in that eye. When the retina in the back of your eye pulls away from its normal position, the detachment separates it from the layer of blood vessels that supply it with oxygen and nutrients. Without the nourishment provided by those blood vessels, your retina suffers extensive damage, leading to permanent vision loss.

The retina is a thin sensory membrane that receives and organizes visual information. The retina contains rods and cones, which are the light-sensitive cells that receive focused light and send it to your brain for interpretation. You need a functioning retina to see.

If you experience sudden vision problems, get a diagnosis from an eye specialist. The retina specialists at Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York (VRMNY) use current knowledge and advanced equipment for diagnostic imaging and treatment. These ophthalmologists offer in-office procedures, such as laser surgeries and other surgical procedures to repair the damage to your retina.

What Are the Symptoms of a Detached Retina?

Retinal detachment causes symptoms you can’t ignore. If you notice any of the symptoms, visit an expert eye doctor for an early diagnosis. While retinal detachment is painless, you may notice symptoms that include:

• Blurred vision
• Reduced peripheral vision
• A curtain-like shadow that covers your field of vision and causes partial vision loss
• Photopsia, sudden flashes of light in one or both eyes when you look to the side
• A sudden increase in floaters, which are dark specks floating in your field of vision

Consult your ophthalmologist to learn if you’re a good candidate for eye surgery to repair a detached retina. VRMNY maintains three locations: Manhattan, Brooklyn and Westchester. These retinal specialists devote time and resources to eye treatment research and development, so they are up-to-speed on the latest diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Which Retinal Detachments Require Repair?

While testing to diagnose your retinal detachment, an experienced eye doctor identifies the underlying cause of the retinal damage. The main types of retinal detachment include:

• Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. This damage is caused by a tear or hole in your retina.
• Tractional retinal detachment. When you develop scar tissue on your retina, it requires a specialized tractional retinal detachment repair to correct.
• Exudative detachment. This is a retinal detachment caused by other conditions, such as inflammatory disorders, eye cancer or Coats’ disease, which involves abnormal blood vessels in your eye.

After identifying the type of retinal detachment you have, your eye doctor develops a customized treatment plan. The diagnosis is required before any treatment can begin. Your ophthalmologist always chooses the safest and most effective treatment.

What Are My Options for Retinal Detachment Repair?

Retinal detachment repair is a surgical procedure to repair a detached retina. The surgery returns the retina back to its normal position. Advances in eye treatments have led to more procedures to repair detached retinas. Retinal detachment repair surgeries include:

• Pneumatic retinopexy. For this retinal detachment repair procedure, your eye doctor injects a gas bubble into your eye. The bubble pushes against the detached retina to press it back into position.
• Scleral buckle technique. For this eye procedure, your ophthalmologist treats a detached retina by placing a piece of silicone material in the sclera or the white of your eye over the affected area. The eye buckle holds the retina in position.
• Retinal cryopexy. Also called cryotherapy, this eye treatment procedure involves extreme cold therapy to treat retinal detachment, breaks or tears. Your doctor sometimes combines this procedure with another to effect a successful treatment.
• Laser surgery. If your eye diagnosis shows there’s a tear, hole or break in your retina that’s causing the detachment, your eye doctor can choose a laser eye surgery to correct it. Options include panretinal photocoagulation, or techniques such as the focal laser, prophylactic laser or indirect laser.
• Vitrectomy. An advanced eye surgery used for severe cases of retinal detachment. The procedure entails the removing the vitreous fluid in your eye to better access your retina. Your eye eventually replaces the vitreous.

A top NYC ophthalmologist determines how to repair your detached retina after reaching a diagnosis. Your retina specialist at VRMNY understands that the best treatment is the one that’s effective, but also is the least invasive. Trust your eye doctor to use the most appropriate technology to perform a retinal detachment repair.

What’s the Procedure for Retinal Detachment Repair?

After your assessment and diagnosis, your doctor chooses how to repair a detached retina. Common surgery techniques involve different steps, such as the use of fluid-air exchange or PFO gas. The procedures also differ in their mechanics. But there are some standard steps involved in retinal detachment repairs, which include:

1. Doctor’s consultation. Your eye doctor discovers the extent of your eye damage through diagnostic testing and examination before choosing the best retinal detachment repair surgery.
2. Your doctor takes a medical history and may adjust your current medication.
3. Depending on the retinal detachment repair surgery, your doctor uses either local or general anesthesia. Sedation prevents pain and anxiety.
4. Surgery to repair a detached retina. Your eye doctor performs the surgery following best practices for enhanced safety and efficiency. All the procedures seek to revert your retina to its normal position.
5. Your doctor provides you with post-operative care instructions to protect your eye and promote a faster recovery. Follow them carefully.

Complex surgery to repair a detached retina protects your vision. Contact VRMNY to get the best eye doctor for emergency eye surgery as well as for regular checkups.