Can retinal detachment be prevented?

Sorry to hear about your recent retinal detachment surgery. It is impossible to prevent the development of a retinal detachment, however there are several approaches you may consider to reduce the risk of developing one.

Some risk factors including your degree of myopia, or family history may be impossible to change.

Prevention is always better than a cure. An acute change in the vitreous volume from a posterior vitreous detachment may induce a retinal tear. Early consultation and examination by an Ophthalmologist may detect a retinal break early enough to negate the need for surgery. Such breaks may be sealed with a retinal laser.

Avoiding trauma to the eye also reduces the likelihood of a retinal tear.

Prophylactic laser (retinopexy) or cryotherapy (for extremely anterior lesions) to vulnerable areas of the retina may also be recommended for high-risk lesions, as it sounds like it was offered to you by your Ophthalmologist.

Best of luck!

ESG

This answer discusses the issue in general, and is not intended as specific advice for any particular patient.

But yes, in short, retinal detachment can be prevented.

Here's the long answer:

There are several kinds of retinal detachment, but the ones that most people refer to are 'rhegmatogenous retinal detachments'. These happen when a tear or hole develops in the retina, and liquefied vitreous gel enters the retinal break causing it to separate and detach from the wall of the eye. The actual detachment can happen any time after the retinal break occurs, but usually not at the exact same time.

If a retinal tear or hole is identified before the retina detaches, prophylactic laser treatment can be applied around the retinal break. This causes the retina to stick to the wall of the eye around the break, thereby preventing fluid from entering it.

However, any one session of laser treatment does not guarantee 100% prevention of future detachments. This is because future retinal breaks can occur in unlasered parts of the retina, and it is not possible to laser the entire retina as excessive lasering can affect vision. Therefore, even after laser treatment to prevent retinal detachments, patients should remain watchful of sudden increases in floaters, bright flashes of light, or shadows blocking vision. If any of these are experienced, they need to get the eyes checked again in case of further retinal breaks.

Lasering an eye that has no retinal breaks can be controversial depending on the patient's individual circumstances. This is where a frank discussion with your doctor regarding the perceived risk vs benefit ratio would be helpful in deciding whether to proceed, or on the other hand, whether to monitor the situation for the time being.