Romanoff Vision

We are committed to excellence in total eye care. Our focus is to provide each patient personalized care utilizing state-of-the-art services. Our goal is to enable each individual to achieve improved quality of life through better vision.

Home Page

Services

Aesthetics

Directions to the Office

Information on Eye Diseases

Office Forms

Links

Testimonials

What`s New

Optical Boutique & Sunglass Center

Retinal Detachment

The retina is the very thin tissue the lines in inside of the back of the eye. It is the part of the eye that reacts to light by a chemical process that then sends a nerve impulse to the brain which in turn translates that nerve impulse to vision. The retina is analogous to the film in a camera.

A retinal detachment occurs when the retina is pulled away from its normal position in the back of the eye. A retinal detachment is often preceded by a small tear in the retina. Retinal tears can be caused by trauma, aging and thinning of the retina, and posterior vitreous detachment amongst other lesser known causes. Often retinal tears have no symptoms and they can precede a retinal detachment by many weeks to months. They are often found on routine eye exams by the ophthalmologist. If they are found before the retina starts to pull off, they can be easily sealed with an outpatient office laser, thus preventing a retinal detachment.

The typical symptoms of a retinal detachment can be the sudden appearance of floaters and flashes. After some time, which can be shortly after the floaters and flashes and as long as many hours, a veil or dark curtain can appear usually coming from the peripheral field of vision to the center of vision. When this occurs one can lose all meaningful vision.

Retinal detachments are a true medical emergency. The earlier they are treated, the better the chance of a full restoration of good vision. The longer the retina is detached, the less the likelihood of visual restoration. Surgery is the only treatment for a true retinal detachment. There are many different types of surgical repair of a retinal detachment depending on the type and the extent of the detachment.

The two most common surgical repairs are a scleral buckle, which is like placing a rubber band around the eye, and pneumatic retinopexy, which involves injecting a gas bubble in the eye to push the retina back in place. Both of these procedures are for large retinal detachments and both are considered major surgical procedures.

Smaller retinal detachments can be treated in the office with lasers or cryotherapy. The laser works by “burning” the retina back down in place while the cryotherapy “freeze burns” the retina back in place.

Retinal detachment surgery is usually performed by ophthalmologists who have taken specialty training in the field of vitreous and retina. They are referred to as retinologists or retina specialists.

Remember, that if you are having any of the symptoms of a detached retina, call an ophthalmologist as soon as possible since the longer the retina is off the less the chance of a successful restoration of vision.