Trauma to the eyeball, severe contusions, inflammatory lesions, and sometimes ocular surgery can lead to retinal detachment. The onset of symptoms may be gradual or sudden, depending on the cause, size, number, and location of retinal holes. The patient usually sees flashes of light and then notices cloudy vision or loss of a portion of the visual field. Another common manifestation is the sensation of spots or moving particles in the field of vision. In severe retinal detachment there can be complete loss of vision.
Retinal detachment is corrected surgically.
Scar tissue eventually forms and seals the opening. Another surgical procedure called scleral buckling places the retinal breaks in contact with the pigment epithelium and choroid. Adhesions form and bind the sensory retinal layers to these structures. In some cases, such as vitreous hemorrhage, the surgeon performs a combined vitrectomy and humoral retinal repair. The purpose of the surgery is to remove vitreous that is opaque because of accumulated blood, and to stabilize the retina in apposition to the choroid.