In retinal detachment, the retina gets separated from the back of the eye. With retinal detachment, you may have partial or complete vision loss and emergency assistance is a must here. Reach out to the top eye hospital in Siliguri for advanced and comprehensive retinal care at the Himalayan Eye Institute.
When retinal detachment is a serious eye condition, access to proper medical care can save vision. It occurs when the retina, a light-sensitive membrane or thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye, pulls away from its actual position.
Without treatment, retinal detachment can result in permanent vision loss. If you notice low vision, dark floaters, loss of peripheral or side vision, etc., seek immediate medical help.
This blog shares the risk factors, symptoms, and the importance of urgent care to protect your vision. Have a read.
Knowing the Symptoms of Retinal Detachment
The retina is vital to your vision as it senses light and sends signals to your brain via the optic nerve. When this light-sensitive membrane detaches, it separates from the layers of blood vessels beneath that supply it with oxygen-rich nutrients. Without a proper blood supply, it becomes downright challenging for the retinal cells to live longer.
This eye condition generally causes no pain. Often, symptoms start out before a retinal detachment occurs or worsens. You might have symptoms like:
- Blurry vision
- Sudden onset of flashes of lights in both/ one eye
- Partial vision loss with dark shadowing effect
- Floaters in the field of vision
- Side vision or peripheral vision issues
When retinal detachment is painless, symptoms often appear quickly. Since retinal detachment is a medical emergency, an immediate visit to an eye specialist is important. You might visit the best retina hospital in Siliguri or an eye hospital at your nearest location.
What are the Risk Factors? – Retinal Detachment
There are a number of risk factors involved, such as:
- Aging, especially over 40 and 70 age
- Prior surgeries like cataract surgery
- Family history of retinal detachment
- Severe eye injury leading to retinal detachment
- Past severe eye injury
- Eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy
- Posterior vitreous detachment
- Lattice degeneration
- Personal history of retinal detachment
These are the most common contributing factors for retinal detachment. Consult your eye specialist at the best eye hospital in Siliguri North Bengal. If you have a family history, personal history, past eye injury, eye surgery, or condition like diabetic retinopathy, you should be extra attentive to your health. Discuss with your eye specialist about preventive steps or lifestyle improvement.
Treatment and Diagnosis of Retinal Detachment
Retinal detachment is a serious concern and needs emergency support. The goal of treatment for retinal detachment is to prevent vision loss or further complications.
To diagnose retinal detachment, your retina specialist will perform an eye exam. This is to check your vision, the ability to see things like colours, eye pressure, the appearance of your eye, etc.
Your eye/ retina specialist may also check the blood flow throughout your eye and order an ultrasound of your eye. A reputable retina eye clinic in Siliguri offers all these tests.
Different procedures/ surgeries are there to treat and protect vision affected by retinal detachment. Your retina surgeon may administer a laser beam into the eye to make burns around the retinal tear, called laser photocoagulation or retinopexy (laser surgery).
In cryopexy (freezing treatment), intense cold is applied to the affected area to help seal it and secure the retina in place. Scleral buckling is another effective procedure in which a flexible silicone band is inserted around the outside of the eye to create pressure that pushes the retina back into position.
Pneumatic retinopexy in which an eye surgeon injects a gas bubble into the eye and this technique presses the retina back into position. In certain cases, eye surgeons choose vitrectomy, which removes the vitreous gel and replaces it with a gas bubble or silicone oil for retinal reattachment.
See your eye specialist at the top eye hospital in Siliguri. With accurate diagnosis and patient-centric eye care, doctors will help you protect your vision.