Retinal Detachment What You Need To Know To Save Your Sight

By John Choi, MD

A retinal detachment can cause permanent vision loss. But what is it?

What Is the Retina?

The retina is the inner lining of the eyeball. This lining contains your vision machinery such as nerves. If you think of your eye as a camera, the retina is the film. Without it, you can't have a clear picture.

What Is a Retinal Detachment?

The retina lays flat against the eyeball wall like wallpaper. The eye is filled with a jelly called vitreous, which is attached to the retina. As you get older, the vitreous shrinks. It pulls away from the retina, sometimes tearing it.

When the retina is torn, it detaches from the rest of the eyeball like wallpaper peeling off the wall. Then you lose vision. Left untreated, there is a high risk of going blind.

Some conditions increase the chance of having a retinal detachment

Nearsightedness

Weak areas of the retina

Previous retinal tear or detachment in the other eye

Previous cataract surgery

Glaucoma

Previous severe eye injury

Family history of retinal detachment

How can you tell if you have a retinal detachment?

The following symptoms may mean you have a retinal detachment

New flashing lights

New floaters in your vision

Shadow in your side vision

Dark curtain moving across your vision

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should see your eye doctor as soon as you can to find out if you really do have a retinal detachment.

How Is a Retinal Detachment Fixed?

Your eye doctor should refer you to a retina specialist if he or she suspects you have a retinal detachment. If the retina is torn but not yet detached, the specialist can seal the tear in the office with freezing or laser to prevent a detachment. If the retina is detached, it must be reattached to save your vision. Sometimes this can be done in the office. Usually surgery is required. The surgery is an outpatient procedure.

After your retinal detachment is fixed, vision may take months to improve. Sometimes the vision does not fully return or improve at all. The more severe or the longer you've had the detachment, the less the vision improves. Again, if you suspect you have a retinal detachment it is very important to see your eye doctor immediately.