Detached retina needs treatment

Floaters are caused by thickening or shrinking of the vitreous gel (the usually clear jelly that fills the eye cavity). Sometimes the shrinking vitreous gel can pull away from the retina - this is called posterior vitreous detachment. Occasionally this leads to a retinal tear and then a larger area of retina may become loose (retinal detachment). As you imply, this is more common in people like your wife who are very short-sighted.

If treatment is started early, or if the tear is small, then she may be treated with laser or freezing treatment, done under local anaesthetic. If the tear is larger or has been present for longer, she may need an operation to repair the hole in the retina. In 90 per cent of cases this is managed in one operation, done under general anaesthetic with a 2-3 day stay in hospital afterwards. There is not usually much pain but the eye will be sore and swollen for a couple of days. You need to talk to the surgeon doing the operation about how much vision might be affected after surgery - this depends on which part of the retina has been damaged and how large the hole is.

Your wife will be encouraged to get up and carry on as usual on the day after the operation. Sometimes people have to keep their head in a certain position to help the healing process.

I hope this information gives a little reassurance. I am sure that the eye surgeon or a specialist nurse will be available prior to the operation for you to speak to. Try phoning the consultant's secretary to arrange a chat.