Retinal detachment is a medical emergency that occurs when the thin layer of tissue that makes up the retina at the back of the eye pulls away from its position. When the retina is detached, the blood vessels cannot properly provide oxygen to the eye and a patient can suffer permanent vision loss.
Aging and eye injury are the most common causes of retinal detachment. If you suffer an eye injury, it’s important that an eye doctor check your retina as soon as possible. Other risk factors include extreme near sightedness, previous eye surgery, and previous eye disease.
Warning signs typically appear before the retina detaches so patients should seek treatment if they experience sudden vision changes. That may include the appearance of floaters or lines, blurred vision, reduced vision, the loss of peripheral vision, flashes of light in your vision or dark shadows across your vision.
Your eye doctor will check your retinas by giving you eye drops to dilate your eyes for an exam. The exam is typically painless. The doctor may press on your eyelids to check for retinal tears, which may be uncomfortable for some people.
Surgery can be performed to repair a retinal tear, hole or detachment. When the retina is not yet filly detached, your eye doctor may recommend laser surgery to burn around a tear and to create a scar that binds the retina to the nearby tissue. A small hole or tear can sometimes be repaired with a freeze treatment, called cryopexy.
When the retina is detached, your doctor will perform surgery as quickly as possible. Your doctor will discuss the type of procedure that will work best for your situation. In cases when detachment is caught early, repairs are generally successful. In some cases, the procedure may need to be repeated.
The Cizik Eye Clinic opened in 2007 and is housed in Memorial Hermann Plaza at 6400 Fannin Street. It includes dozens of exam areas, multiple operating rooms, and laser suites equipped with the most sophisticated equipment available for patient care.
People travel from across the country and the world for treatment at the Cizik Eye Clinic, in part because our affiliation with the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth provides unmatched resources and expertise. Our friendly staff works diligently to make your visit pleasant and efficient, as we maximize patient flow through everything from routine eye exams to the most advanced eye surgeries.
Our physicians are faculty members at McGovern Medical School and are board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology or are board eligible. At the Cizik Eye Clinic, we understand that the eye is a small part of a whole patient who deserves top-notch, comprehensive care in a cutting-edge facility.
At Robert Cizik Eye Clinic, we offer patients access to highly specialized eye and vision care. To ask us a question, schedule an appointment, or learn more about us, please call (713) 486-9400, or click below to send us a message. In the event of an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room.