Retina & Vitreous Surgery

Specialist in the diagnosis and medical and surgical treatment of the pathologies of the posterior pole of the eye. Problems in the retina and vitreous can cause severe visual loss or even blindness. The most common pathologies that may affect the vitreous-retina are:

RETINAL DETACHMENT

A serious issue that will result in loss of sight if not operated. Retinal detachment is the separation of the retina from its habitual place, the most usual cause of this is due to more than one break in the retina after a traction of the vitreous.

Treatments: preventive (cryotherapy and laser photocoagulation), scleral surgery or most commonly vitrectomy with gasor silicon injection.

VITREOUS DETACHMENT

This occurs when the vitreous is liquefied, it peels of the retina and tends to collapse in the inside of the eye. In many cases there are symptoms as seeing floaters, flashes…, in others it can be very uncomfortable and this could be treated with LASER Vitreolysis.

LASER VITREOLYSIS

This a simple non invasive new technique that can remove the vitreous floaters that cause the uncomfortable symptoms and affect vision with a few laser pulses.

VITRECTOMY

A surgical operation which has the objective to extract the vitreous gel (transparent substance that fills the ocular cavity). This procedure may be necessary when the vitreous stops being transparent and instead turns opaque due to many illnesses, in cases of retinal detachment with vitreous traction, in diabetic retinopathies, macular holes and some cases of severe ocular traumatism.

Aside from improving the patient’s vision, vitrectomy allows the extraction of fibrous bands that cause traction on the retina that can provoke detachment and wrinkling of the retina. The surgery, normally is done with local anaesthesia and last between one and two hours. It is a very complex surgery that requieres special experience.

On our team we have one of the best vitreoretinal surgery units with ophthalmic sugeons of vast experience.

AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION:

Macular deterioration association to aging,it is a pathology that affects the macula, the central part of the retina, it is typical in people over the age of 70 years, it is a degenerative disease that leads to the loss of the central vision. There are two types: the wet type (which is treated with intravitreal injections of antiangiogenic farmaceuticals) and the dry type.

MACULAR HOLE

When there is tration of the vitreous the central retina, this may generate a break in the centre of the retina (macula) and provoke loss of the central vision. This is treated by vitrectomy. There are other types of macular holes that are not associated with vitreous traction, thus vitrectomy is not indicated.

THROMBOSIS

This occurs when a thrombus causes an obstruction in one of the veins in the retina. The most frequent causes are hypertension arteriosclerosis and diabetes. This can be treated through lasers, antiangiogenics, intraocular corticosteroids and even surgery.

MACULAR MEMBRANES

Also called “epiretinal membranes”, fibroglial proliferations in the macular surface that produce image distortions. This usually occurs from 50 years onwards. This is treated through surgery (vitrectomy), in which the membranes are peeled from the retinal surfaceto restore the normal macular structure and function.