How Retinal Detachment is caused

Retinal detachment

Retina is a thin layer of nerve tissue, in the form of a thin, translucent membrane, covering the back inner part of the eye.

Its primary role is to convert people's visual stimuli (images) into «electrical» signals, which are transmitted through optic nerves to the brain and thus we have image perception.

Η retinal detachment is one of the most serious eye diseases, as its untimely treatment can have extremely adverse effects on vision and can even lead to blindness.

How is retinal detachment caused?;

The inside of our eye is filled with a clear and viscous fluid (think of it as jelly), known as vitreous humour, which is in contact with the retina, which is essentially the wall of the eye (think of it as the wallpaper of a wall).

After the age of 40, or even earlier in people with high myopia, the aforementioned vitreous fluid usually begins to shrink and gradually separate from the retina. This reasonably causes some pulling on the parts of the retina from which the fluid detaches. In most cases the separation of vitreous fluid and retina occurs naturally without serious consequences, a process known as vitreous detachment.

Retinal detachment

In cases, however, where the retina an eye is sensitive or there is a strong connection between the vitreous and retina, the pulls caused on the retina during vitreous detachment can lead to the formation of a retinal tear. If the crack is not treated in time, then there is a risk that intraocular fluids will pass through it and lead to retinal detachment, as the connection between the retina and the walls of the eye is weakened (in the same way that the wallpaper of a wall comes loose if fluid gets underneath it).

What are the symptoms of retinal detachment?;

The symptoms of retinal detachment is:

- Lightning and flashes
- Black spots (flies)
- Loss of the peripheral visual field (shadow), which the patient often does not notice until central vision is affected and it is important for patients to be able to identify them, as the earlier the diagnosis of detachment is made, the easier it is to treat.

Η retinal detachment is more common in people with high myopia, especially after the age of 40 or after an eye injury.