Retinal Detachment Repair

Treatment for Retinal Detachment?

There are several different ways to repair a Retinal Detachment. The decision on which type of surgery is appropriate for you depends on the characteristics of your detachment.

The principal of surgical repair is to reattach the retina to the eyewall by draining the fluid from under the Retina and sealing the tear by:

Retinal Photocoagulation Laser Scleral Buckle Surgery

Vitrectomy Cryosurgery

Scleral Buckle Surgery

Scleral buckling is effective in supporting a tear, hole, or break in the retina that has caused the detachment.

It is commonly used in combination with other approaches when the scar tissue tugging on the retina has caused the detachment.

What is Scleral Buckle Surgery?

Scleral Buckling surgery is a common way to treat retinal detachment. It is a method of closing breaks and flattening the retina.

How does Scleral Buckle Surgery Work?

A scleral buckle is a piece of silicone sponge, rubber, or semi-hard plastic that your ophthalmologist places on the outside of the eye (sclera, or the white of the eye).

The material is sewn to the eye to keep it in place. The buckling element is usually left in place permanently.

The element pushes in, or "buckles," the sclera toward the middle of the eye. This buckling effect on the sclera relieves the pull (traction) on the retina, allowing the retinal tear to settle against the wall of the eye.

Risks with Scleral Buckle Surgery

Scleral buckling poses some short-term and long-term risks. Most of these complications do not happen very often, but can include:

A recurrence of the retinal detachment again.
Swelling in the retinal area may delay healing.
Raise the fluid pressure inside the eyeball. Patient with glaucoma may be at higher risk
Bleeding in the eye can impair vision.
Eye infection.
The buckling device may rub on other parts of the eye or move out of place

Cryosurgery

The Scleral Buckle itself does not generally prevent a retinal break from opening again. Usually extreme cold (cryopexy) or, less commonly, heat (diathermy) or light (laser photocoagulation) is used to scar the retina and hold it in place until a seal forms between the retina and the layer beneath it.

The seal holds the layers of the eye together and keeps fluid from getting between them.

In complex Retinal Detachment cases, both approaches may be necessary for a successful result.