What are the Causes of Torn Retina and Its Treatment

The retina is part of the eye that lies securely at the back of the eyeball and functions like a camera film. It is responsible in sending the images to the brain via the optic nerve.

What Causes a Torn Retina

The retina becomes torn when it separates from its supportive tissues. Its functioning would of course be affected when this happens and results to a serious condition.

If left untreated, it can lead to blindness. Some people have higher risk of acquiring torn retina than others, these include:

• Individuals with family history of this condition.
• Middle-aged to older individuals.
• Near-sighted people since their eyeball is elongated, which stretches their retina and making it thinner.
• People with cataract. After a cataract surgery, the scar tissue makes the bond of the retina to its supportive tissue to weaken.
• Diabetic patients. Since they can develop a condition termed as diabetic retinopathy, the retina becomes weak and detaches itself from the underlying tissue.
• Also, people who suffer from trauma in the eye region can experience retinal detachment.

Torn Retina Symptoms

There can be a gradual appearance of the symptoms of torn retina if this pulling from the supportive tissue does not occur suddenly.

However, in severe cases when the pulling occurs abruptly, the retina is detached right away, causing symptoms to arise at once, which include the following:

• Perception of flashes of light.
• Floaters or spots which can be experienced from time to time.
• Blurring of vision
• Partial or full loss of vision.
• Vision of a closing curtain coming from the side or from the top of the eye going down.

Torn Retina Treatment

• When the retina is torn, it has to be immediately repaired surgically to restore or seize the possibility or vision loss. If the condition is partial, photocoagulation can be done which is a laser procedure to create a scar on the retinal edges to connect it to the underlying tissues and to hinder fluids to further damage this part.
• Retinopexy is another procedure to repair torn retina. The edges of the retina are repaired through a laser treatment or a freezing technique.
• Those who are at risk of acquiring torn retina, as mentioned above, have to regularly visit their optometrist to make sure that their eye are in good condition or to detect the progression of this disease at an early stage. Thus, treatment is more successful when carried out during the early stage.