This condition is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment to avoid permanent sight damage.
Ellen Lindner / Verywell
How Serious Is a Detached Retina?
A detached retina is a true eye emergency and requires immediate treatment to avoid severe vision loss or blindness.
Ellen Lindner / Verywell
If you experience any of the symptoms of a retinal detachment, seek medical attention immediately.
Time is of the essence in the treatment of a retinal detachment.
Early treatment can improve the chance of restoring your vision.
What Does Vision Look Like With Retinal Detachment?
You should not expect to feel any pain in your eye due to retinal detachment.
When a chronic medical condition is the cause of a detached retina, your symptoms can occur gradually.
Repair
Retinal detachment requires interventional treatment.
While surgery is usually the primary treatment method, not all cases require surgery.
For example, small retinal tears or partial detachments may be repairable with laser therapy or cryotherapy.
Significant retinal detachments, however, typically require surgery to reattach the retina to the back of the eye.
Most people recover at home after retinal detachment surgery without a hospital stay.
Keep in mind that a procedure to repair a retinal detachment can help you avoid serious vision loss.
Your optometrist or ophthalmologist willdilate your pupilsusing eye drops.
A binocular indirect ophthalmoscope may be used to obtain a three-dimensional view to examine the inside of your eye.
An ultrasound rig can be used to look at the eye, especially if dense bleeding has occurred.
Summary
Retinal detachment is a serious eye condition that requires immediate professional attention.
If left untreated, it can cause total vision impairment in the affected eye.
American Academy of Opthalmology.Retinal Detachment: Torn or Detached Retina Symptoms.
Retinal Detachment: Torn or Detached Retina Symptoms.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Williams GA.How common is it to get retinal detachments in both eyes?American Academy of Ophthalmology.
National Eye Institute.Surgery for Retinal Detachment.
National Eye Institute.Retinal Detachment.
National Eye Institute.Types and Causes of Retinal Detachment.
Nentwich MM, Ulbig MW.Diabetic retinopathy - ocular complications of diabetes mellitus.
2019 Jun 11;14(6):e0217548.
2019 Jun;33(3):228-237. doi:10.3341/kjo.2018.0125.
