Retinal Diseases

Treatment of Retinal Tear

Retinal tear

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Retinal tear occurs when the vitreous that fills the center of the eye sags and pulls away from the retina, forming small, jagged flaps on the surface. In its early stages, a retinal tear causes blurred vision.

Treatment is needed to reseal the tear, reduce the pull of the shrinking vitreous and sometimes to reattach the loosening portion of the retina to the back of the eyeball.

Your doctor will likely recommend either laser photocoagulation (creating small burns on the retina) or cryopexy (freezing small areas of the retina) to hold the retina to the underlying tissue and prevent retinal detachment and vision loss. See treatment page for more details.

Usually patients regain most of their vision when treatment occurs before detachment or before the macula is affected.