Retinal Tears and Retinal Detachment ?

What is the reason of retinal tears and holes?

Retina is contact with vitreous gel inside of the eye. Vitreous gel is homogeny, tight, supported to retina and pushes outer tissues such as choroids and sclera in healthy eye. Vitreous gel’s viscose and homogeny structure may have change with some special circumstance. High myopia, eye trauma and intraocular inflammation diseases are making vitreous gel turn easily to liquid form. Vitreous’s supporting property lost by transition of liquid form than it start to split from retina. When it is splitting it pulls retina and retinal tears might happens. Liquid vitreous get in from torn tissue and became retinal detachment.

Why Retinal Detachment is dangerous and urgent?

Retinal Detachment might have lead to blindness. Cells will not be able to nourished and die because of retina split from layer where it is attached. If retinal detachment moves to macula it might cause vision lost. Even it is reposition perfectly with operation cells might die because of elapsed time so to reach old vision is impossible.

Treatment needs retinal detachment facts.

Patient have;

• Retinal detachment on other eye.
• Other retinal detachment disease in family.
• Other disease that leads to retinal detachment.
• Retinal tears
• Planning eye surgery.
• Work that have risk of head or eye trauma.

What is retinal detachment?

Retinal detachment is observing on 10000 out of 1 person every year. It is a big treat for vision. It is mostly seeing on middle age but it can be on any age. If it is not treated on time it might cause complete vision lost or part of vision. Retinal detachment is nerve layer separated from pigment epithelium layer so liquid weeps between those two layers because of tears or holes. Retinal detachment is mostly seeing on high myopia patients. Retina layer became unshaped and thinner when eye’s front and back diameter increased. Some other reasons retina can get thinner such as family and degenerative diseases. Vitreous gel started to lose homogeny and turn to liquid form. When it is changed form it split from retina and that is called Vitreous Retinal Detachment.

Causations and Symptoms of Retinal Detachment

Unshaped and thin retinal layer can cause jag on retina. This jag feels like lightning or flash. Those flashes can take one day long or longer. Some of patients do not even feel them. If there any vein through where tear on retina, it is might cause bleeding so patients will see like soot rain. Vitreous gel’s viscose and homogeny structure may have change and turn easily to liquid form. Vitreous supporting property lost by transition of liquid form than it starts to split from retina. When it is splitting it pulls retina and retinal tears might happens. Liquid vitreous get in from torn tissue and became retinal detachment. Retina loses function and patients feel black spot or curtain in front of their eyes. Retinal detachment sometimes stays on same spot but usually it is moves. Central vision is lost when macula separated from tissue and eyeball shrank when retinal detachment takes long time. Sudden hits to eye might cause retinal detachment also diabetes and family, degenerative diseases might cause retinal detachment without tear or hole on retina.

Diagnosis of Retinal Detachment

Pupils enlarge with eye drop and doctor search for tear or hole on the eye with microscope. Ultrasonography can be done if it is needed.

What are the facts of Retinal Detachment?

Retinal Detachment can cause blindness so the facts are important.

The facts are;

• Feeling flashes even eye is closed or open.
• Seeing flying substance in front of eye
• Black-gray curtain on vision field
• Blurry vision and lost vision that can not back to normal with a blink.

Patients must go for retina exam if they have any of these facts as soon as possible.

What is treatment of retinal tear?

Early diagnosis is very important for retinal tear before it turns to retinal detachment. Sudden flashes and flying substance in front of eye are symptoms of retinal tear. Patients must go for retina exam if they have any of these symptoms as soon as possible. Doctor might find tear on the retina while examination and have to treat with laser and seal the tear.

What is treatment of retinal detachment?

Surgery is needed if retinal detachment is grown. Operation method shows differences for shape of tear, size, place and duration.

Scleral Collapse Technique

This is the oldest method on Retinal Detachment surgery. Hard silicon piece placed on tear part and making collapse. After covering tear part with silicon piece vitreous liquid absorbed by eye and heals itself.

Vitrectomy

If Retinal detachment has many tears, big tear or undetected place might need vitrectomy operation because in vitrectomy operation doctor interfere inside of eye. Small holes made on eyeball and from those holes vitreous liquid inside of the eyeball cleaned with some aspiration prob sticks and light sources. Liquids under retina are aspirating, tears are covering and have laser treatment to retinal detachment. Laser treatment make tears to stick together in order to do that doctor have to injects tampon material inside of the eye. Tampon material can be air, similar gas or silicon oil. Patients have to wear eye patch and sleep specific position after the operation.