YAG vitreolysis uses a focused laser to break up a single, well-defined floater – it does not remove every floater. It works best for a discrete, mobile Weiss ring or mid-vitreous floater sitting clearly away from both the natural lens and the retina, typically in patients aged 50+ after a posterior vitreous detachment. Around 60–90% of carefully selected patients report meaningful improvement after 1–3 sessions.
What is YAG vitreolysis?
YAG vitreolysis is an outpatient laser procedure performed at the slit lamp. A Q-switched Nd:YAG 1064 nm laser – the same laser type used for a YAG capsulotomy but on a dedicated vitreolysis platform – is focused on a floater within the vitreous cavity and vaporises its collagen fibrils, breaking it into smaller fragments the eye reabsorbs over the following weeks. There is no incision, no theatre and no gas bubble.
Most floaters are part of normal age-related vitreous change and settle with neuroadaptation over 3–6 months. Vitreolysis is reserved for the minority whose floater is genuinely disabling for driving, reading or screen work and is anatomically suitable. A sudden shower of new floaters or flashes always needs urgent assessment to exclude a retinal tear or detachment.
Is vitreolysis right for you?
Treating floaters is a careful selection decision. Your consultant maps the floater in 3D to confirm safe spacing from the lens and retina, then recommends one of three routes.
Not sure if your floater is suitable for laser? A consultant will map it and tell you honestly.
Book your assessmentHow YAG vitreolysis works
Before treatment the consultant performs a full vitreoretinal assessment – indirect ophthalmoscopy with scleral indentation, macular OCT and wide-field imaging – and maps the floater to confirm it sits safely away from the lens and retina. The eye is then numbed with drops and dilated.
At the slit lamp a vitreolysis contact lens is placed on the cornea and the floater is brought into precise focus. Around 200–600 laser pulses at low energy vaporise the floater into smaller fragments and a tiny volume of gas that reabsorbs over weeks. You see flashes of laser light and may hear a faint clicking, but there is no pain. The treatment itself takes 10–20 minutes.
Aftercare & recovery
Same day
Dilating drops blur vision for 4–6 hours, so arrange not to drive home. An eye-pressure check is done about an hour after treatment.
Day 1 & week 1
Most patients drive and resume normal activities the next day. A 1-week IOP and slit-lamp review confirms the eye is settling.
4 weeks
Symptomatic review. The fragmented floater continues to clear and the brain adapts to any residual specks.
12 weeks
Consultant outcome review. A second or third session is planned at 12-week intervals if the floater is only partly treated.
How much does YAG vitreolysis cost?
UK 2026 self-pay YAG vitreolysis is typically £1,200–2,200 per eye per session, inclusive of the consultant vitreoretinal assessment, OCT, wide-field imaging, the treatment, IOP checks and a 12-week outcome review. A per-eye package of up to three sessions over six months is £2,400–4,800 at high-volume vitreolysis centres.
YAG vitreolysis is not routinely funded by the NHS for primary floaters, so it is accessed privately. See treatment pricing or compare with floater vitrectomy and the wider vitreoretinal surgery options.
YAG vitreolysis FAQs
Self-pay YAG vitreolysis in the UK in 2026 is typically £1,200–2,200 per eye per session, inclusive of the consultant vitreoretinal assessment, OCT, wide-field imaging, the treatment itself, IOP checks and a 12-week outcome review. A per-eye package of up to three sessions over six months is £2,400–4,800 at high-volume vitreolysis centres.
No. YAG vitreolysis is not routinely commissioned by NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales or HSC Northern Ireland for primary symptomatic floaters in 2026. The NHS pathway is observation, with vitrectomy reserved for severe cases on Individual Funding Request. YAG vitreolysis is accessed through private consultant-led vitreoretinal centres equipped with a vitreolysis-rated Nd:YAG platform.
No. The eye is anaesthetised with topical drops and the treatment is performed at the slit lamp with a contact vitreolysis lens. Patients see flashes of laser light and may notice a faint clicking sensation as the laser fires, but there is no pain.
Most appropriately selected patients need one to three sessions, spaced 6–12 weeks apart, to achieve symptomatic relief. A Weiss ring after posterior vitreous detachment can sometimes be resolved in a single session; more complex mid-vitreous floaters typically need two or three sessions of partial treatment.
YAG vitreolysis is best suited to a single, discrete, mobile Weiss ring or a discrete mid-vitreous floater sitting clearly away from the natural lens and clearly away from the retina. It is not suitable for diffuse vitreous syneresis with multiple small floaters or strands, anterior floaters close to the lens, or posterior floaters close to the retina.
Specific risks include a transient IOP rise treated with topical pressure-lowering drops, very rare lens (cataract) injury if the floater is too close to the lens, very rare retinal injury, retinal haemorrhage, retinal tear or retinal detachment, transient new small floaters from fragmentation, mild inflammation, and incomplete symptomatic relief requiring further sessions or eventual vitrectomy.