Ophthalmic floaters are common and usually harmless. Most floaters are caused by small pieces of detached vitreous gel in the vitreous fluid casting shadows on the retina; while they may be annoying, they're usually harmless and require no treatment. However, floaters can have more serious causes. Retinal detachment and retinal tears can cause floaters that appear suddenly or suddenly increase in number and do require treatment.
Laser
The retina, the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye, may tear away from the back of the eye in one area. A retinal tear can cause a sudden increase in floaters. Photocoagulation laser treatment repairs small tears. Laser treatment can be done in an office setting or in the hospital, usually as an outpatient procedure, and takes less than 20 minutes. The laser makes small burns around the tear, and the scar tissue that forms hold the retina to the wall. Your eye may feel slightly irritated after laser, but there are no other negative effects.
Cryopexy
Cryopexy is a freezing procedure that reattaches the detached or torn area of the retina to the back wall of the eye by freezing the area around the tear. This is usually done as an office procedure, the National Eye Institute states. The retina reattaches to the wall of the eye after a very cold probe is placed on the outer surface of the eye over the area of the tear. Scarring occurs at the area that was frozen. Cryopexy causes reddening and irritation of the eye for several days.
Vitrectomy
Vitreous floaters are usually associated with aging. As people age, the vitreous, which fills the center of the eye, shrinks. Small strand of vitreous break loose and float in the vitreous, the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye center explains. If numerous floaters develop that are disruptive to a person's vision, removing the vitreous and replacing it with a saline solution, a procedure known as vitrectomy, may be done.
Vitrectomy may also be used for retinal tears or detachments. In this case, gas, oil or air may be placed in the eye to hold the retina against the back of the eye right after cryopexy or laser are done in the surgical suite. Scleral buckle may also be placed to hold the retina in place. The eye will refill with fluid over a few weeks. Depending on the location of the detachment, a person may have to keep his head and face looking down for a period of a week or more.
Scleral Buckle
A large retinal detachment needs to be surgically treated and repaired. Under local or general anesthesia, crypexy first attaches the retina to the back of the eye. Next, a band made out of silicone called a scleral buckle may be placed outside the white of the eye at the site of the detachment. This indents the white part of the eye, pushing it towards the retina and holding it in place. For a large tear or several tears, a buckle may be stitched into the white of the eye's entire circumference.
Pneumatic Retinopexy
Retinal tears located in the top half the retina may be treated in an office setting by pneumatic retinopexy, the Mayo Clinic states. Cryopexy first is used to help the retina reattach to the wall of the eye. Then a small amount of fluid is withdrawn from the eye, and a gas bubble is inserted into the vitreous. The gas bubble holds the retina in place until it heals. The gas is absorbed back into the eye over the next few weeks.
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