Retinal detachment repair

Alternative Names: Scleral buckling; Vitrectomy; Pneumatic retinopexy; Laser retinopexy

Retinal detachment repair is eye surgery to place a detached retina back into its normal position.

A detached retina means the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye has separated from its supporting layers.

This article describes the repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments -- retinal detachments that occur due to a hole or tear in the retina.

Description of Procedure

Most retinal detachment repair operations are urgent. A detached retina lacks oxygen, which causes cells in the area to die. This can lead to blindness.

If holes or tears in the retina are found before a detachment occurs, an ophthalmologist can close the holes using a laser. This is usually done in the doctor's office.

If the retina has just started to detach, a procedure called pneumatic retinopexy may be done to repair it.

• Pneumatic retinopexy (gas bubble placement) is usually an office procedure. The eye doctor injects a bubble of gas into the eye.
• You are then positioned so the gas bubble floats up against the hole in the retina and pushes it back into place.
• The doctor will use a laser to permanently seal the hole.

Severe detachments need more advanced surgery. The following procedures are done in a hospital or outpatient surgery center:

• The scleral buckle method indents the wall of the eye inward so that it meets the hole in the retina. Scleral buckling can be done under local or general anesthesia.
• The vitrectomy procedure uses very small instruments inside the eye to release tension on the retina, allowing it to move back into proper position. Most vitrectomies are done under local anesthesia.

For some complex detachments, both procedures may be done during the same operation.

Risks of Retinal detachment repair

Risks for retinal detachment surgery include:

• Bleeding
• Detachment that is not completely fixed (may require more surgeries)
• Increase in eye pressure (elevated intraocular pressure)
• Infection

General anesthesia may be needed. The risks for any anesthesia are:

• Reactions to medications
• Problems breathing

Detached retina	Retinal detachment repair - series

Review Date: 8/12/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Franklin W. Lusby, MD, Ophthalmologist, Lusby Vision Institute, La Jolla, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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