Are you familiar with retinal tears? These represent a serious problem that can eventually lead to vision loss if not addressed quickly.

This is because they affect the retina, the part of your eye that captures light and transmits the information to the brain so that we can see and process images. This is why damage to the retina can have such dramatic effects on your vision.

Having a tear in the retina is a serious retinal condition that if untreated, can lead to a retinal detachment. This is a potentially blinding eye emergency that needs immediate attention from a retinal specialist and will need surgery to fix.

If you want to learn more about retinal tears or detachments and how to identify as well as treat them, we’ll go over all of that here today.

What are retinal tears?

As mentioned earlier, the retina is the thin layer at the back of your eye that captures light and sends information about images to the brain.

When we are young, the gel in the eye, known as vitreous, is attached to the retina. As we age, this gel softens and separates from the retina. In some cases, instead of separating smoothly, it peels the retina along with it and results in a retinal tear. If left untreated, this tear can progress to become a retinal detachment.

A retinal detachment is an emergent condition that means your retina is now separated from the underlying layers. This will lead to irreversible vision loss if not treated swiftly.

The Common Symptoms of Retinal Tears

There are many possible signs of a retinal tear, but the most common are floaters. These are described as small specks moving about in your visual field, almost as though someone has sprinkled little grains of dirt or pepper on your eye.

Flashes are also relatively common signs of a retinal tear. Also known as photopsia, flashes are exactly as the name suggests: flashes of light in your vision that may have anywhere from a few seconds to several hours between them.

Aside from these, below are some of the other common symptoms someone with a retinal tear may present with:

• Loss of peripheral vision
• A dark curtain or shadow over your vision
• Blurry vision in the affected eye

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should see an eye doctor immediately for an assessment. This is because a tear should be treated before it progresses to a detached retina. Hence, any suggestion that a tear is present should be investigated as soon as possible.

Note that it can even be possible for tears to show no symptoms at first. There have been cases of asymptomatic patients whose tears were only found incidentally, while they were having their eyes checked for other conditions.

The Causes of Retinal Tears

The main cause of retinal tears is natural degeneration. It starts when the vitreous gel in the eye softens with age and starts to separate from the retina. When there is incomplete separation, the retina tears.

It is also worth noting that some other eye conditions appear to increase the chances of developing tears. As an example, myopia or nearsightedness appears to dramatically increase the risk of getting a tear at some point. Aside from this, there are many other conditions that increase the risk of retinal tears, including these:

• Trauma
• Having previous retinal tears in the same eye or fellow eye
• A family history of retinal tears or retinal detachments
• Previous eye surgery, including cataract surgery

The Treatment Options for Retinal Tears

Breaks in the retina, or retinal tears, will require treatment if a person wishes to preserve vision. There are some instances where tears or holes in the retina appear to have scarred without progressing to become a larger tear or retinal detachment. However, this is rather uncommon, and the risk should not be taken.

The principle of treating a retinal tear is to barrier the tear and adhere the layers of the retina together. In this way, fluid is unable to get underneath the tear and it does not progress to become a retinal detachment.

The ophthalmologist first needs to assess the eye, and based on the location, size, and other factors like cataracts or bleeding in the eye, then will they determine which is the best option for managing your tear. The following are among the possible treatment options for this:

• Laser photocoagulation
• Cryotherapy
• Vitrectomy surgery

Laser Photocoagulation

This is the most common treatment for retinal tears. The laser treatment involves the use of a laser to seal the tears through burns created by scar tissue. That is, the laser will create a scar around the retinal tear that ends up holding the edges of the tear together.

The procedure is a simple outpatient procedure which is performed under local anaesthesia. The ophthalmologist will first use a numbing eyedrop on the eye, then apply a contact lens. They will then direct the laser beam through your pupil in order to make controlled burns and scars that seal the tear in the retina.

After the procedure, you should be able to go about your daily routine after an hour of rest. Sometimes the doctor will provide you with some eyedrops and schedule a follow-up appointment to check that the laser done was sufficient.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is an alternative to retinal tear laser surgery that replaces the heat of the laser with the chill of a freezing probe. Other than that, however, it works in much the same way and is mainly used when something about the tear (like its location) makes laser treatment difficult.

However, this procedure is usually done in an operating theatre with a stronger anaesthetic. After numbing the eye, the doctor uses the freezing probe to create controlled and strategic scars to seal the retinal tear. After the procedure, you will usually be provided with some eyedrops to help with any ensuing swelling and inflammation.

Vitrectomy

A vitrectomy is a major eye surgery. This is usually done when the retinal tear has progressed to become a retinal detachment.

However, there are also some indications for performing a vitrectomy even if it has not reached that stage. Sometimes there may be too much bleeding in the eye, which obscures the view of the retina and prevents the laser from effectively burning the retina. Other times, there may be the early beginnings of a retinal detachment with fluid already seeping under the retina, and making the laser burns ineffective.

At any rate, a vitrectomy involves removing the vitreous from the inside of your eye. This is done via keyhole incisions. During the surgery, a probe is inserted into the eye to perform the laser directly up close to the retina and in a precise fashion.

At the end of the surgery, the surgeon usually leaves a bubble of gas in the eye. This bubble helps to keep the retina attached by applying pressure on it. The pressure is gentle, so it should do its job without compromising the eye. This bubble will also disappear on its own over the next few weeks and your vision will then return to normal.

Book an appointment to get assessed for retinal tears today

As we mentioned earlier, it’s essential for individuals experiencing retinal tear symptoms or who have been diagnosed with a retinal tear to consult with an ophthalmologist promptly.

Early intervention and appropriate treatment are critical for preventing the progression of the tear to a more severe condition like retinal detachment, which can lead to permanent vision loss if left untreated.

If you need help, reach out to us at Shinagawa Eye Centre. Simply call us to enquire or book an appointment so that our eye doctors can evaluate your situation and figure out if you need treatment.

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