A detached retina is a medical emergency requiring immediate care. Surgery is the most common treatment to restore circulation to the retina and prevent permanent vision loss.

Retinal detachment is a serious eye condition in which the layer of tissue in the back of your eye stops receiving oxygen.

You might see floaters or squiggly lines, a gray veil may move across your field of vision, or flashing like a camera flash or lightening bolt in your side vision.

Retinal detachment repair may involve surgery to restore circulation to the retina and prevent permanent vision loss. If not treated quickly, a retinal detachment can cause you to lose your sight.

Your retina is part of the very back of your eyeball and is essential to your vision.

This part of your eye sends images through your optic nerve to the brain. It contains millions of cells that detect light like a camera.

Retinal detachment occurs when the retina pulls away from the back of the eye and the blood supply. Without a blood supply, the retinal cells will start to die.

This means you need to have retinal detachment repaired as soon as possible.

What happens if retinal detachment isn’t repaired?

Reattaching the retina quickly is essential to prevent vision loss resulting from eye damage.

Retinal detachment can occur because the gel-like liquid in your eye retracts from the back of the eye, pulling the retina and tearing it. That tear can then pull away from the back of the eye and detach the retina.

Some causes and risk factors of retinal detachment include:

Learn more about retinal detachment.

There are several types of surgery to repair a detached retina.

Different types of retinal detachment require different kinds of surgery and different levels of anesthesia. The type of procedure your doctor performs will depend on how severe the retinal detachment is.

In most cases, surgery is necessary to repair a detached retina.

If a larger part of your retina is detached, surgery will move it back into place. The three most common surgeries are pneumatic retinopexy, scleral buckling, and vitrectomy.

Pneumatic retinopexy

This surgical procedure is used to repair minor detachments and can sometimes be done in your doctor’s office.

First, your doctor will typically put a numbing medication in your eye so you feel no discomfort. The next steps include:

  1. Insert a tiny needle in the eye to extract a small amount of fluid.
  2. Inject a small amount of air into the eye so that a small bubble forms in the eye.
  3. Wait for the retina to move back into place, and then repair any holes or tears with laser surgery or freezing.

The air bubble in the eye will disappear over time, but there are certain precautions to take after the procedure to make sure the eye heals completely.

Part of that involves limiting movement and keeping your head in a certain position or several days, to prevent the air bubble from moving.

Your eye care team can help you understand what other post-surgery steps may be needed.

Scleral buckling

This type of procedure may be done in more severe cases of retinal detachment.

For this surgery, your doctor will typically give you anesthesia so you can sleep during the entire procedure. From there:

  1. A small and flexible band will be placed around the sclera (white part of the eye).
  2. The band will gently push the sides of the eye toward your retina so it will reattach.
  3. The band will be attached permanently after the surgery.
  4. Laser surgery or freezing may be provided to repair any holes or tears.

The procedure is relatively simple, so you may be able to go home the same day. However, due to the anesthesia, you’ll need someone to drive you home.

Vitrectomy

This is a surgical procedure similar to pneumatic retinopexy, but it is used for larger tears and usually needs to be performed in an outpatient surgery center.

You’ll be given anesthesia so you can sleep through the procedure. The next steps can include:

  • A small incision will be made in the sclera of the eye.
  • A microscope will be inserted to see inside the eye.
  • Any abnormalities (scar tissue, vitreous fluid, or cataracts) will be removed.
  • The retina will be put back in its place with a gas bubble.
  • Laser surgery or freezing will be done to repair any holes or tears.

Severe pain is extremely rare after the procedure, but you may experience some discomfort.

In some cases, you’ll be able to go home that same day as long as someone else can drive you home. In other cases, you may have to stay overnight.

After surgery

In order to make sure your eye heals completely after surgery, your healthcare team will likely instruct you to:

  • wear an eye patch for at least one day after the surgery
  • avoid any intense exercise
  • have a follow-up visit with your eye doctor

Learn more about what recovery may be for you following retinal detachment repair surgery.

In other cases of minor detachments or tears of the retina, a simple procedure may be done in your doctor’s office.

Laser therapy or freezing (cryopexy) are the most common treatment options for retinal tears.

Lasers

If you have a hole or tear in your retina but your retina is still attached, your doctor may perform a procedure called photocoagulation with a laser.

The laser burns around the tear site, and the resulting scarring attaches your retina to the back of your eye.

Cryopexy

For this freezing treatment, your doctor will apply a freezing probe outside your eye in the area over the retinal tear site.

The resulting scarring will help hold your retina in place.

Retinal detachment repair is usually done as an emergency.

Be sure to tell your doctor about any medications you may be taking that could interfere with the surgery or the anesthesia.

Surgery can carry some risk. Possible risks might include:

  • eye infection
  • bleeding in the eye
  • an increase in eye pressure, which could raise the risk of glaucoma
  • cataract (when the lens in your eye becomes cloudy)

If you have general anesthesia, it can interfere with breathing. Some people have serious reactions to the medication.

If the retina was damaged before reattachment, permanent vision loss is possible if surgery doesn’t happen soon enough.

The retina can often be attached in a single operation, but multiple procedures may be needed in certain situations.

The success of a retinal repair depends on the severity of the tears and detachment, and the amount of scar tissue that has formed in the retina.

Generally, retinal detachment repair surgery has a high success rate.

In some instances, the retinal detachment cannot be repaired. This could mean that the person lives with partial vision loss or no vision in that particular eye.

It may also take several months of healing after surgery to determine how much vision will return. You will likely have more than one follow-up visit with your eye care doctor to assess your progress after the procedure.

A detached retina is considered a medical emergency requiring immediate repair. The specific type of repair procedure may depend on the nature and severity of the retinal detachment.

Treatment options may include lasers, freezing, or one of a few different surgical procedures.

You will likely need to take some after-care steps to help you recover and for your eye health to begin returning.

Your healthcare team will likely monitor your progress following the repair procedure to determine its success and whether you may experience any longer-term vision changes.