Private retina surgery in London from £6,300

Our expert retina team have 35 combined years of experience in vitreoretinal surgery for adults and children, managing conditions ranging from retinal detachment, eye floaters, epiretinal membrane and diabetic retinal diseases.

Don’t compromise on your eye care! Early diagnosis is key to the success of treatment. If you are suffering with retina problems get in touch with our unrivalled team to discuss your treatment options.

What is retinal detachment

The retina is the delicate layer of cells at the back of the eye that captures external light, sending it to the brain, enabling sight. The retina is normally attached to the wall of the eye. Retinal detachment is a separation of the retina from the wall of the eye, akin to wallpaper peeling off a wall. This can lead to permanent loss of vision or blindness due to interruption of blood and oxygen supply.

Is retinal detachment an emergency?

Retinal detachment often requires urgent treatment. In particular, retinal detachment with new symptoms of peripheral visual loss that has yet to affect the central vision (often called macula-on or macula-sparing retinal detachment) may require emergency same-day surgery.

Types of retinal surgery

• Vitrectomy surgery is the treatment of choice for the majority of retinal procedures. It involves microsurgery inside the eye, with the removal of the vitreous gel, to allow access to the retina.
• Scleral buckling surgery is generally preferred in patients with retinal holes. It involves surgery on the outside of the eyewall instead. A silicone band is placed to push the wall inwards against the retinal break alongside cryotherapy or laser to seal it.
• Pneumatic retinopexy is occasionally used, involving a gas bubble injection without vitrectomy, with cryotherapy or laser which may need to be performed at a later time point.
• Laser surgery alone is occasionally considered for small peripheral retinal detachments.

Treatment depends on both the type of retinal detachment and the age of the patient. Our retina specialist will discuss the best treatment for you and whether surgery is needed in your consultation.

Retina conditions treated

• Retinal detachment
• Epiretinal membrane
• Vitreous haemorrhage
• Vitreomacular traction
• Eye floaters
• Macular hole
• Posterior vitreous detachment
• Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) retinal detachment
• Diabetic eye diseases
• Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy

Symptoms and signs of retinal detachment

Symptoms of retinal detachment include:

• Sudden onset of visual floaters and/or a shadow (dark or grey curtain) in the peripheral vision (most common)
• Onset of flashing lights
• Loss of central vision as a result of the peripheral shadow increasing rapidly

Some patients may not immediately notice a loss of peripheral or central vision if it occurs in their non-dominant seeing eye.

How to prevent blindness from retinal detachment?

The key is early diagnosis and treatment by a retinal surgeon when the retinal detachment is limited to the peripheral retina before central vision is affected, known as macula-on or macula-sparing retinal detachment. Once central vision is involved, there is no treatment that can return vision completely back to normal.

It is thus important to have your eye examined urgently by a retinal surgeon within 24 hours of developing any sudden change or loss of vision.

Risks of retinal detachment surgery

While retinal detachment surgery has risks just like any surgery, it is a bigger risk to leave retinal detachment untreated as it can lead to a complete and irreversible loss of vision. The risks associated with retinal detachment surgery include:

• Infection or bleeding to cause blindness: less than 1 in 1000 chance
• An increase in pressure inside the eye: usually temporary
• Increased chance of developing cataracts, which is treatable with additional surgery

Success rate of retinal detachment surgery at Optimal Vision

The success rate depends on a number of factors, including type and duration of retinal detachment. For the commonest type of retinal detachment (rhegmatogenous), the UK national average among a large cohort of vitreoretinal surgeons in a research study of 4231 patients published in 2020 (Ferrara et al, American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2020 Sept) demonstrated a retinal reattachment success rate of 85-88%. At OCL, our equivalent success rate is >90%, with a 0% infection rate.