Retinal Detachment Q & A

What is a retinal detachment?

When you’re looking at an object, the light from the image passes through the lens and is focused on the retina. The retina is a thin layer of light-sensitive tissue which contain specialized cells that convert the light into electrical impulses that are transferred to the brain via your optic nerve. Your brain interprets these signals and forms an image that you can identify.

A retinal detachment occurs when the retina, which is a thin layer of light-sensitive tissue, peels away from the back of your eye. This causes vision loss due to the role the retina plays in eyesight.

What causes retinal detachment?

The most common cause of retinal detachment is an untreated retinal tear. Causes of retinal tears include severe nearsightedness (myopia) that’s related to an abnormally long eyeball. This stretches the retina tissue, which may result in retinal tears that require retinal surgery to repair.

Other issues that can lead to retinal tear/detachment include:

• Diabetic retinopathy
• Fluid accumulation beneath the retina that may be related to macular degeneration, inflammatory disorders, or injury to the eye
• Age-related changes that may include shrinkage of the vitreous gel inside your eye
• Scar tissue on the retina that causes it to pull away from the back of the eye, often related to poorly controlled diabetes

What are the symptoms of retinal detachment?

Retinal detachment is painless but typically sends out warning signs before it occurs, including:

• Sudden increase in eye floaters
• Random flashes of light in one or both eyes
• Decreased side (peripheral) vision
• A curtain-like shadow over your visual field

Contact Dr. Lazar immediately if you notice any of these symptoms.

What is a vitreoretinal specialist?

A vitreoretinal specialist is an eye physician whose focus is primarily on the structures at the back part of the eye.  Retina specialists often work in conjunction with general ophthalmologists, medical retina specialists, optometrists, and other eye care providers. They treat eye diseases in the office and can go to the operating room to fix some eye problems with surgery.

Retina specialists first complete four years of medical school. Retinal specialists also have advanced medical training after medical school including one year of internship, three years of ophthalmology residency, and an additional two years of vitreoretinal surgical training. They can interpret sophisticated imaging of the back part of the eye like optical coherence tomography (OCT) or fluorescein angiography (FA).

What types of surgery or procedures do retina specialists perform?

Retina specialists perform intravitreal injections for diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration.  They can perform lasers for retinal tears or detachment. They perform vitrectomy surgery for many eye issues including:

• Eye floaters
• Retinal detachment
• Macular hole
• Epiretinal membrane (ERM)
• Posterior vitreous detachment
• Intraocular bleeding (vitreous hemorrhage) from diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration

Call for an appointment or book your visit online.