Retinal Tears and Detachment

Retinal detachment usually occurs secondary to a tear in the retina, which allows fluid to flow underneath the retina and “detach the wallpaper” (the retina) from the eye wall. There are several ways to reattach the retina:

• Scleral buckling, which closes the tear by indenting the eyewall from the outside to close the tear.
• Pars Plana Vitrectomy which utilizes a gas bubble to close the retinal tear internally, after removing the gel in front of the retina, termed the vitreous.
• Pneumatic retinopexy which utilizes a gas bubble to close the retinal tear internally without removing the gel. This procedure is most commonly performed in the office, as opposed to the first two procedures.

The above procedures are supplemented with laser and/or cryotherapy to permanently seal the retinal tears.