This gas may stay in the eye for up to eight weeks. The gas bubble is gradually absorbed and is replaced by the eye’s own fluid. In some cases, a gas or silicone oil bubble is placed in the eye. The body replaces the saline with its own fluid within a few days. The third incision is used to infuse a saline solution into the eye as the vitreous gel is removed. The second incision is used to remove the vitreous gel with a miniature handheld cutting device. The first incision is used to introduce a fiberoptic light to illuminate the inside of the eye. Instruments are placed in three tiny incisions near the front of the eye. The lack of vitreous gel does not affect the functioning of the eye. This procedure requires the removal of the liquid gel, located in the back of the eye, called the vitreous. Vitrectomy surgery is performed to repair many diseases that affect the back of the eye including the retina, vitreous and macula. You're like to have to wear glasses for some activities, although there's no doubt that it's better to replace cataracts than not.Retina Surgery What Is Retina Surgery (Vitrectomy)? Unless you get a bifocal lens replacement, and most insurance companies in the US aren't going to pay for it, you will find that you can have either great long-distance vision or great up-close vision, but not both. The bad news is that this process can take up to a year.Īnd when it comes to cataract surgery, many people aren't happy with the results if they are already farsighted. The good news about this wavy line is that it will eventually go away even without further surgical intervention. There are more frequent complications with oil than with air. As the eye regenerates vitreous fluid, the bubble will move to the top of the eye, and the boundary between the natural fluid and the injected air or oil will appear wavy. This bubble isn't the same density as the eye's naturally occurring fluids. An air bubble slowly dissipates on its own, while an oil bubble has to be removed in a separate procedure after the scar has healed. This process ideally increases pressure inside the eye just enough, usually, to keep the retina in contact with the choroid until scar tissue can make the bond permanent. This procedure is known as pneumatic retinopexy.

To hold the retina in place while the scar is forming, the surgeon may remove the vitreous fluid in the eye and replace it with a bubble of an oil called sulphahexafluoride (SF6), air, or both. You may have a permanent blind spot at each site of reattachment, but you could have no vision at all without the treatment. Retinal detachment is treated with laser or cryotherapy (with a freezing proble) to create a small scar that will reattach it.

These are most common in people under the age of 40. Only about 10 to 20 percent of cases of RD result from injury to the eye.In this group, RD most commonly occurs during the first year after cataract surgery. Even with a replacement lens, poor wound healing can have a similar effect. Without a replacement lens, the structures in the front of the eye can pull against those behind the retina. People who have cataract surgery are more prone to RD, especially if they had removal of the lens without implantation of a new one.In this group, RD will most commonly occur between the ages of 25 and 45. In nearsightedness, the eyeball is elongated, and there is greater stress on the ligaments under the choroid. People who are extremely nearsighted (myopic) are at greater risk of RD.Certain groups of people are more prone to detached retinas than others. About 6 percent of the population has holes in the retina that do not interfere with vision. The blood vessels in the retina exude proteins that cause them to twist, turn, and eventually break, leaking blood into the eye, depriving the retina of oxygen and nutrients.Īll of these events can occur without detachment of the retina.Inflamed fibers on the surface of the retina cause it to 'bunch up' and tear away from the membrane behind it.

A hole in the retina lets the vitreous fluid inside the eyeball leak behind it.

The retina may become dislodged, or detached from the retina when: It lies on top of the choroid, a membrane filled with blood vessels and cells that make the pigments that the retina uses to detect light. The retina is a thin layer of cells that generate electrical signals when they are activated by light. Repairing a detached retina, however, is a tricky operation. Without a connection to the greater bloodstream, the rods and cones of the retina quickly die. A detached retina is a medical emergency.

Retina reattachment surgery