Retinal detachment happens when the retina — the layer of light-sensing cells lining the back of the eye — lifts away from the wall of the eye and loses its blood and oxygen supply. It is a medical emergency: warning signs are a sudden shower of floaters, flashing lights, or a dark curtain or shadow moving across your vision. Treated quickly with surgery (most often a vitrectomy from £6,100), the retina can be reattached and useful sight preserved.
What is retinal detachment?
The retina is a thin film of nerve tissue that captures light and sends images to the brain. In a retinal detachment, fluid passes through a tear or hole in the retina and collects behind it, peeling it away from the underlying layer that nourishes it. Because the detached area can no longer function, vision is lost in the corresponding part of your sight — and if the central retina (macula) detaches, central vision is threatened.
The most common type is rhegmatogenous detachment, caused by a retinal tear. Detachment usually affects one eye and, untreated, can progress within hours to days to permanent sight loss. That is why any sudden onset of flashes, floaters or a visual shadow should be treated as urgent.
Symptoms & warning signs
Retinal detachment is painless, so the visual warning signs are what matter. Seek same-day care if you notice:
- A sudden increase in floaters — specks, threads or a “cobweb” drifting across your vision
- Flashes of light (photopsia), often in the corner of your eye
- A dark shadow or curtain spreading across part of your field of view
- A sudden drop in vision or a grey veil over your sight
Flashes and floaters can also occur with a harmless posterior vitreous detachment, but only an examination can tell the difference — so never wait to find out.
New flashes, floaters or a shadow over your vision? This needs same-day assessment. Call us now or request an urgent appointment.
Request urgent assessmentCauses & risk factors
Most detachments begin with a retinal tear that lets fluid seep beneath the retina. Your risk is higher if you:
- Are very short-sighted (high myopia) — the retina is thinner and more prone to tears
- Have had a posterior vitreous detachment or retinal tear
- Have had previous eye surgery, such as cataract surgery
- Have suffered a direct eye injury
- Have a family history of retinal detachment
- Have had a detachment in the other eye
How it is diagnosed
Diagnosis is urgent and made by a specialist examination:
- Dilated fundus examination — drops widen the pupil so the consultant can examine the entire retina and locate tears.
- Indirect ophthalmoscopy — a detailed view of the peripheral retina where most tears occur.
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) — cross-sectional scans showing whether the macula is involved.
- Ocular ultrasound (B-scan) — used when bleeding or cataract blocks the view of the retina.
Treatment options
Retinal detachment is treated surgically, usually as a day case, and the technique is chosen to suit the type and position of the detachment — see our retinal detachment surgery overview.
- Vitrectomy — the most common repair: the gel inside the eye is removed, the retina flattened, and a gas bubble or oil placed to hold it in position while it heals. See vitreoretinal surgery pricing.
- Scleral buckle — a silicone band placed around the eye to gently indent the wall and close the tear.
- Pneumatic retinopexy — a gas bubble injected into the eye to push the retina back, combined with laser or freezing treatment to seal the tear.
A simple retinal tear with no detachment can often be sealed in clinic with laser or cryotherapy to prevent a detachment developing.