The rate of progression of a retinal detachment can vary from days to weeks depending on many factors such as patient age as well as the size and the number of retinal tears. Gradual loss of peripheral vision in the form of a shadow, curtain, or cloud (this corresponds to the retina detaching.)
A retinal detachment may cause permanent blindness over a matter of days and should be considered an eye emergency until evaluated by a retina specialist. Most retinal detachments occur suddenly and can threaten the central vision within hours or days.
While potentially dangerous on their own, retinal tears also often precede retinal detachment — an eye emergency that can lead to blindness. However, getting prompt treatment can keep a retinal tear from evolving into a detachment.
The risk of retinal detachment in an eye with a fresh retinal tear is about 70 percent. Treatment can reduce the risk of a tear progressing to a retinal detachment to about one percent. Ten percent of eyes with a retinal tear develop subsequent retinal tears, most within the first 2 months of onset of the symptoms.
Retinal detachment is a painless condition, but it usually causes noticeable visual cues. For instance, the sudden appearance of floaters, or objects that appear to drift through the visual field, can indicate that retinal detachment may occur.
Signs and Symptoms of Retinal Tears
Black spots in field of vision. Flashes of light. Blurry vision. Darker/dimmer vision.
If you have symptoms of retinal detachment, go to your eye doctor or the emergency room right away. Retinal detachment can cause permanent vision loss — but getting treatment right away can help protect your vision.
The average age of retinal detachment diagnosis in the United States is 57 for males and 62 for females, according to the American Optometric Association.
In most cases, retinal tears occur spontaneously, but other factors, such as trauma or prior eye surgery, can also cause retinal tears.
Yes, your optometrist should be able to diagnose your retinal detachment with a dilated eye exam. Your eye doctor will look through your widened pupil to see if there is excess fluid in the retinal space and whether your retina has detached.
The initial symptoms of a retinal detachment are the same as a retinal tear or a posterior vitreous detachment, i.e. flashes and floaters; however, as the detachment progresses, a dark, opaque moon-shaped shadow or curtain will appear from one side of your vision.
A tear in the eye can lead to severe and often permanent vision loss. While relatively rare, understanding retinal tear symptoms can allow for prompt treatment. Tears will not heal on their own and, when left untreated, are likely to lead to additional and more severe tearing.
Not all retinal tears require treatment. When low-risk tears are identified in patients who have no symptoms, these tears can be observed without treatment. Some tears “treat themselves,” meaning they develop adhesion around the tear without treatment, and these situations can be followed without treatment as well.
With a 99.3% reattachment rate for primary RRD repair after one or more surgeries, the Mass Eye and Ear Retina Service continues to maintain high success rates for this procedure. For the past 10 years, the Retina Service has consistently met international benchmarks of 97% to 100% for successful RRD repair.
You will need 2 to 4 weeks to recover before returning to your normal activities. This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace. Follow the steps below to get better as quickly as possible.
Aging is the most common cause of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. As you get older, the vitreous in your eye may change in texture and may shrink. Sometimes, as it shrinks, the vitreous can pull on your retina and tear it.
Answer: As a general rule, retinal detachment occurs in both eyes in about one in ten patients with an initial retinal detachment in one eye. The second detachment in the fellow eye may occur even years later.
A retinal tear and detachment are not painful, but almost always have warning signs that you should be aware of, including: Sudden onset of floaters (small dots or cobwebs) Flashes of light in your vision. Blurred vision.
Retinal detachment is a medical emergency, and early treatment is important to protect your vision. If you have a retinal detachment, you may need surgery to reattach your retina to the back of your eye within a few days.
Retinal tears can develop and progress quickly, which may lead to retinal detachment. 1 As such, it's important to know what symptoms a tear can cause so you can recognize them as early as possible and seek treatment immediately. Retinal detachment symptoms include: Flashes of light in the eye (most common)
Retinal detachment can only be repaired with surgery. If left untreated, your vision will most likely worsen beyond repair. Seeing an eye specialist as soon as you experience symptoms leads to the best outcome.
Retinal surgery has a high success rate, and for most people vision is preserved. However, in some people, there may be a recurrence of retinal detachment that may require two or more surgeries to treat.