The retina is one of the essential parts of your eye. It is a thin layer of photosensitive tissue that lines your eye’s interior wall.
Millions of light-sensitive cells called rods and cones cover the retina and detect light as it enters your eye. They send that light to the brain in the form of electric signals via the optic nerve.
The brain receives the signals from the eye and interprets them to create the images you see. Keep reading to learn more about the retina and if you can treat a retinal detachment.
Retinal detachment is a common retina issue. It happens when the thin layer of retinal tissue peels or tears off the wall of your eye.
It is a painless experience that can seriously threaten your vision. Without immediate intervention, retinal detachment can cause vision loss.
Several different factors can lead to retinal detachment. The most common type of retinal detachment occurs when a small tear or hole forms in the retina, often due to aging.
Aging plays a significant role in retinal detachments. As you age, the gel inside your eyes called the vitreous begins to shrink and contract.
The vitreous and retina are attached. As the vitreous shrinks, it pulls on the retina, which can cause tears. Openings in the retina allow fluids to pool behind it, which pushes it away from the wall of the eye.
As the retina detaches, it loses blood supply, which causes the tissue to stop working. When retinal tissue stops working, you lose vision.
Scar tissue growing on the surface of your retina can also cause a retinal tear. Like the aging vitreous, scar tissue pulls on the retina and creates holes or tears.
People with uncontrolled diabetes are most susceptible to scar tissue in their eyes. High blood sugar can weaken the blood vessels in your eye, causing them to bleed and heal over repeatedly.
Fluid can also pool behind the retina without a hole or tear in it. But this has the same result as a hole in the retina.
The fluid pooling behind the retina can cause it to separate from the wall of the eye. As with a hole in the retina allowing fluid to pool, this can cause your retinal tissue to stop working.
Treatment for retinal detachment must be swift. There are a few symptoms that may indicate a detached retina.
If you experience any of the following, seek immediate medical attention:
Retinal tear treatments include laser surgery or a procedure called cryopexy. Both create scar tissue over the tear to close it.
Retinal detachment requires more complex treatment to save your vision. One is a pneumatic retinopexy. During this procedure, your surgeon injects a gas bubble into your eye to press the retina back into place.
Another treatment for retinal detachment caused by aging is scleral buckling. Your surgeon sutures material on the sclera or white of your eye to push on your sclera. This pressure reduces the tugging on your retina.
Your surgeon may also perform a vitrectomy. A vitrectomy replaces the gel inside your eye with a bubble of air, gas, or silicone.
The bubble presses the detachment against the wall of your eye. It holds your retina in place until it is attached to the wall of your eye again. Body fluids will replace the bubble in your eye over time.
Schedule an appointment at Vision Care of Maine in Bangor, ME, if you think you have a detached retina. Timely treatment can prevent vision loss.
Your retina is a very delicate part of your eye and a very important part of your ability to see. It is a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the inner wall of your eye.
It is teeming with cells that can sense light. The retina gives us our ability to perceive depth, color, shapes, and brightness.
The problem with such a complex and important body part is that injuries can be devastating to it. Keep reading to find out more about what happens if you injure the retina!
Blunt injuries to the face, for example, can lead to retinal detachment. This condition happens when the retina separates from the interior wall of the eye.
This is a very serious condition, as once the retina separates from the interior wall, it’s cut off from its blood supply. Without blood, the retina can become permanently damaged, so immediate intervention is necessary.
It may be difficult to tell if you are suffering from retinal detachment, at least in the beginning stages, as symptoms are fairly limited. Symptoms include an increase in “floaters” (the little squiggles you sometimes see), flashes of light, blurry vision, and loss of eyesight in small parts of your vision.
Without treatment, these symptoms become worse. The vision that is lost may be permanent.
If treated quickly, retinal detachment is reversible. Any vision loss because of retinal detachment can be minimal if treated within the right amount of time.
The injury must be treated with surgery. If it is a serious retinal detachment, it will require a vitrectomy.
During a vitrectomy, the gel inside of the eye is removed. It is then replaced with either silicone oil, saline, or a gas bubble. Once the gel is outside of the eye, the surgeon can reattach the retina with ease.
Recovery from retinal eye surgery varies from patient to patient. On average, it usually takes less than 6 weeks.
During this time, as with recovery from any other surgery, you will need to be careful and get plenty of rest.
Retinal detachment does not only occur due to blunt force injury. It is not the only possible retinal problem.
Eye disease, complications from surgery, and symptoms from other issues can lead to retinal distress.
Diabetic retinopathy, for example, occurs in patients with higher blood sugar levels. The blood sugar levels damage the blood vessels in the retina, causing them to bleed.
If this continues, new blood vessels may form where they shouldn’t. This causes the retina to swell and causing irreparable scarring.
Macular edema is the deterioration of the central part of the retina, the macula. The macula handles seeing with sharp, central vision. Without it, focusing on objects would be impossible.
The best way to stay healthy is by preventing problems from happening. That is why setting up regular eye care appointments at Vision Care of Maine in Bangor is so crucial. Schedule an appointment with us today!
Cataracts are inevitable. As you get older, your chances of developing them will only continue to increase. If you have cataracts, they can put a stop to some of your favorite hobbies by obscuring your vision. In addition to distorting your vision, they can make your vision look like it’s tinted yellow or brown. This can make simply trying to relax with a book exasperating and will make driving (especially at night) dangerous. Having your self-sufficiency taken away from you can be difficult and frustrating, but there is hope for you if you have cataracts. Cataract removal surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgeries, meaning it is extremely understood and safe to undergo.
A cataract is made up of proteins that exist in the nourishing fluid that flows through your eye, known as the aqueous humor. When a cataract starts forming, these proteins start clumping together on the lens of the eye. The lens is important because it helps light to focus properly on the retina. Cataract surgery isn’t necessary until your cataract starts obscuring your vision. This happens over time and causes the clump of proteins to get bigger and bigger until they block a significant amount of light. This is when a cataract is ready to be removed.
It may seem obvious that the goal of cataract surgery is to remove your cataract, but there’s more to it than that. During cataract surgery, your cataract is removed by fully removing the lens of your eye.
To remove the lens, your cataract surgeon at Vision Care of Maine will break up the lens using an ultrasonic device or laser. The broken pieces of the lens are then sucked out of your eye. After the lens and cataract have been removed, an IOL (also known as an intraocular lens) is placed into your eye to replace the lens. Your IOL will take over the job of your lens, without being clouded or obscuring your vision.
Before cataract surgery, you will discuss what kind of IOL is best for you. In addition to improving your vision, IOLs are able to correct refractive errors. There are several different kinds of IOLs available, but if you are going to cover your procedure with Medicare, the only IOL that is covered is a monofocal IOL.
A monofocal lens improves your distance vision, but you may still require the use of reading glasses if you need to see things up close after cataract surgery. Different types of IOLs have advantages and disadvantages against each other. There are a lot to choose from— multifocal IOLs that have multiple focusing ranges, accommodating IOLs that mimic the small movements of a natural lens, and Toric IOLs that can correct for astigmatism. Premium IOLs like multifocal, accommodating, and Toric lenses are a great option if you are looking for freedom for glasses after cataract surgery!
Want to learn more about cataracts or schedule your cataract surgery? Contact Vision Care of Maine to schedule your cataract surgery consultation!
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