Retinal Detachment Surgery – What to Expect

Retinal detachment surgery reattaches the retina to the rest of the eye at points where it may have become separated, bridging any gaps, or sealing any holes.

The retina is the eye wall's innermost layer. It is attached to the middle layer that is full of blood vessels. It is also attached to the gelatinous substance that fills the eyeball beneath the lens.

The retina comprises cells that are sensitive to light and are able to detect color, shape, and pattern. Nerve fibers emanating from the back of the retina form the optic nerve — from which visual information is brought from the retina to the brain.

So, if the retina becomes detached at any of these points, vision may be lost.

Retinal detachment surgery repairs tears or breaks in any of the aforementioned attachments.

Following are the symptoms of detachment:

• Eye floaters


• Dark spots


• Flashing lights


• Wavy vision

If the detachment is not repaired through retinal detachment surgery, it can turn into complete blindness.

How Retinal Detachment Surgery Works

Surgeons employ different methods in retinal detachment surgery. Three of the most common are listed below.

Pneumatic Retinopexy
This kind of retinal detachment surgery makes use of the body's natural healing process, allowing the retina to do most of the work and reattach itself to the body.

It involves the injection of a gas bubble into the gelatinous center of the eyeball. The bubble then presses the retina up against the eye's back wall.

In the following days or weeks, the gas bubble is absorbed little by little, allowing the retina to naturally reattach itself to the eye. To help the retina repair the break, freezing (cryotherapy) or laser treatment is used.

While waiting for the gas bubble to be absorbed in the days after retinal detachment surgery, patients are instructed to lie on their belly (not on their back) so that the gas bubble does not float up to the front of the eye.

Scleral Buckling
This type of retinal detachment surgery mainly involves sealing by cryotherapy or laser. Using tiny sutures, the surgeon attaches a silicone band or “buckle” to the sclera, the eye's outer surface.

This band will gently press on the eyeball, causing the gelatinous substance in the eye to push the retina up against the eye's back wall. The band also holds the retina in position while a seal forms through laser or freezing.

If there is extra fluid beneath the retina, it will be drained through a small slit. The band or buckle used in this retinal detachment surgery will stay in the eye permanently.

Vitrectomy Surgery
This retinal detachment surgery involves the removal of the gelatinous substance in the eye, called the vitreous. The vitreous is then replaced with gas, air, or silicone oil while the retina reattaches itself.

If gas or air is used it will be naturally replaced by the body with the eye's natural fluid. On the other hand, the silicone oil may either be removed or left in the eye indefinitely.

Poor vision accompanies the time during which the eye is filled with silicone oil or gas.