My Retinal Tear and Detachment
Last Thursday (7/10/2008), while I was driving, I suddenly saw a bunch of spots (brand new) in front of my right eye. The spots were in the form of a cluster and a strand. These spots followed my eyeball movement and were more prominent when I looked at a white or a plain background.
I did not know what to do for a moment. I thought they would go away but they did not. They were there no matter how much I rubbed my right eye and wanted them to go away.
I called my ophthalmologist who I know pretty well. He had warned me that If I see anything different or feel my vision is affected to calll him immediately. When I called his office, they told me to come over right away.
After I saw him, he was sure I had a tear or a break in my retina. I asked him what those spots were. He said they are normally referred to as “floaters”. I sat and talked to him some more and he looked into my eye to see if he could spot a tear or a break. He could not find it. I asked him why he was so sure I had a tear. He said because of my high “myopia” or nearsightedness, I was more prone to having those.
He suggested I go to the retina specialist who I go to every year to do preventive check ups for a possible tear. I got an appointment next day (5/11/2008) and I was there. He conducted a lot of tests, took some pictures and looked deep into my eye to examine my retina. After a few quiet moments. he told me I had a horse shoe tear and a slight detachment and if I did not do anything I would get a complete retinal detachment which could result in blindness. He was very serious and told me this was an emergency. I asked him what he recommended. He told me he would try to seal the tear with a laser using a procedure called “laser photo-coagulation”, whereby you isolate the tear with laser “rivets” around it.
He gave me a booklet to read and scheduled me to come back with a ride. I called my wife and told her all the details and drove back home. I went home and after I read the booklet, it hit me.
I was depressed and cried. The possibility of losing an eye was very real and imminent.
I called my family members and asked them to pray for me and prepared to go for the procedure.
The retina specialist gave me a 30 minute speech on what I had to do after he did the procedure. He mentioned to me that I was a very high risk patient because of my high myopia of developing new tears and a substantial detachment if I do not take care after the procedure.
After, I agreed to do whateer he asked me to do, he proceeded to do the procedure.
He dilated my right eye pupil really wide and shot a laser around the tear at multiple points to seal the tear. He bandaged my eye and told me to take the bandage out in two hours and come and see him the next Monday (7/14/2008).
I saw him that day and saw him again today (7/18/2008) and everything is status quo so far.
No New Tears.
I do have to be very careful and make sure I do not do any anything that is physically stressful for a while.
So what actually happened to me and why?
The vitreous fluid (in my right eye), which is the fluid in the eye and is attached to the retina suddenly shrunk. It could shrink for various reasons
- An eye injury
- Eye surgery
- Genetics
- High Myopia
- Age
- Diabetes
When the vitreous fluid shrinks, it pulls on the retina which is a like a thin delicate wall paper attached to the back of the eye with nothing. The retina stays attached but once it comes off — it is a bear to put it back on and have it stay there.
When the retina is pulled, it could tear; and when it tears, it could also rupture a small blood vessel which causes blood to enter the vitreous fluid. The Floaters are the blood particles. They could be particles from the liquefied vitreous fluid also.
Once the retina tears, the fluid can seep through behind the tear and peel the retina off to start a detachment.
If you experience:
- Floaters in front of your eye
- A black curtain
- A sudden loss of vision
- Flashes (when the retina is pulled)
Please treat any of the above symptoms as an emergency and go directly to a retina specialist if you can. The faster you act the better your chances of avoiding major surgery.
A retinal tear is very serious and could cause blindness.
In my case, I am at a high risk for developing new tears in both eyes — so I have to be on my toes. Wherever I travel to, I am going to make sure, I know where the nearest retinal specialist is.
I know three people who could have prevented blindness if they had acted quickly.
Thank you for all the prayers and best wishes.
Mustafa Savliwala
