Retinal detachment is a very serious eye pathology that requires rapid attention. It is very important to see an ophthalmologist as soon as the first symptoms appear.

• Sudden appearance of floaters (myodesopsia) or an increase in the number of existing floaters
• Flashes of light (photopsia)
• The appearance of a kind of curtain or black area in the field of vision, which extends towards its centre.
• Undulating vision
• Decrease in visual acuity.
• Loss of central vision (indicative of macular lesion)
• It does not cause pain, which may lead the patient to mistakenly think that the condition is not very serious.

• High myopia
• Previous eye surgery
• First-degree relative with retinal detachment
• Severe trauma

 
The treatment of retinal detachment is surgical and should be performed as early as possible.

There are three techniques, and they can be used separately or in combination:

Extrascleral surgery

Which consists of causing a deformity in the eye wall towards the inside of the globe to bring it closer to the tear caused by the detached retina, thus hindering the passage of fluid to the subretinal space. This deformity is created by means of a silicone band or silicone sponge explants. To achieve better results, this technique can be combined with others such as intraocular gas injection, cryopexy, laser therapy (which acts as a “glue” around the tear) and/or subretinal fluid drainage.

Pars Plana Vitrectomy

In this technique the approach is from the inside of the eye, which is accessed through 3 microincisions in the sclera. The first step is to remove the vitreous gel and its tractions and then treat the tears and reposition the retina. The intervention is performed by visualising through the pupil with a surgical microscope combined with special lenses. To repair the tears, laser or cryopexy procedures are used, and in the most complicated cases, intraocular gas or silicone oil as well.

Pneumatic retinopexy

This may be combined with cryopexy or laser procedures, and consists of the injection of intraocular gas to adhere and suture the retina. If cryopexy was not performed during gas insertion, laser treatment must be carried out. It is a simple technique, but not all patients are candidates.