What do I Need to Know About Retina Surgery?

Retina surgery is used to treat a detached retina. The symptoms of a detached retina often appear with little warning. If you know what to expect during and after retina surgery, the entire process will be less frightening.

The symptoms that you may be suffering from retinal detachment include floaters, which are tiny particles that float across your field of vision and flashes of light that shoot across your vision field. Some people also experience a sensation like a curtain hanging to one side of their field of vision. If your only symptom is an occasional floater, call and schedule an appointment with your ophthalmologist.

While floaters can be a sign of retinal detachment, they can also occur randomly and not be indicative of a larger problem. Flashes of light or the sensation of a curtain hanging across your field of vision should be treated as a medical emergency. If there is no one available to transport you to the local emergency room, call 911.

If you are diagnosed with retinal detachment, you will become a candidate for retinal surgery. The retina is reattached to the back of the eye. Scar tissue that results from this procedure will become the material that holds the retina in place. Retina surgery generally has a good prognosis.

It is important to give the eye ample time to heal after the retina surgery. The scar tissue will gradually thicken and become stronger over a period of four to six weeks. This should be considered the minimum amount of time necessary to recover from retina surgery.

Most people recover from retina surgery with excellent sight. Barring unforeseen circumstances, there is no reason to believe that you will be left with any lingering visual disturbances after the eye has healed. For the majority of the population, vision in the affected eye returns to its prior, pre-detachment levels after the eye has had time to heal.

Once you experience one round of retina surgery, your ophthalmologist will probably want to keep a close watch on your other eye. For some people, one detached retina predisposes them to detachment in the other eye. With regular eye exams, your physician may notice changes in the retina and perform preventative laser surgery before any detachment takes place.