A scleral buckle is a type of retinal detachment surgery where the surgeon fixes a flexible, tiny band around the white area of the patient’s eye called the sclera. The role of this band is to gently push the sides of the eye while slowly moving it towards the retina to help the retina get reattached. Once this retinal detachment surgery is successful, the band will remain in the eye permanently to ensure there are no problems in the future.

After this retinal detachment surgery, most people are allowed to go home on the same day. However, they are asked to keep some pointers in mind like:

• Avoiding heavy exercises
• Wearing an eye patch for over a day.
• Having regular follow-ups with the doctor.

Also known as serous retinal detachment, exudative retinal detachment refers to a medical condition where fluid is collected behind the retina of the patient’s eye even though there are no tears or breaks in the retina.

In this case, if a huge amount of fluid gets filled up, it can automatically push the retina away and cause detachment. Coats disease, trauma/injury to the eye, inflammation inside the eye, and age-related muscular degeneration (AMD) are some of the many causes of serous retinal detachment.

Usually, in most cases, retinal detachment surgery is required to treat this eye condition. It is imperative to understand that retinal detachment is an eye emergency that must be treated as soon as possible. 

The retina of the eye is similar to the film integrated into a camera. Therefore, in order to get a clear and accurate picture, it has to be smooth and healthy. In the surgery, the surgeon makes use of several medical tools and devices to ensure that the retina is fixed back in its place without causing any problems in the future.

As mentioned above, there are several surgeries for retinal detachment like scleral buckle surgery, vitrectomy surgery, and pneumatic retinopexy. The last one is considered to be one of the simplest procedures to fix a retinal detachment. However, the only drawback is that it is not suitable in all cases.

In the first step of this retinal detachment surgery, the surgeon carefully injects a gas bubble in the vitreous cavity of the eye to treat the damage or the tear with cryotherapy/freezing or laser. The injected gas bubble gently presses the retina of the eye against the wall of the patient’s eye, and the freezing or the laser slowly sticks the retina down, bringing it back to its original position. Lastly, once the retinal detachment surgery is over, it is crucial to take all the preventive measures to give some time for the injected gas to gradually disappear on its own.