FIONA: WELCOME BACK TO "SA
LIVE," IF YOU HAVE BLURRED
VISION, THAT'S ONE OF THE
SIGNALS OF RETINAL DETACHMENT.
WITHOUT PROPER TREATMENT, YOU
CAN GO BLIND.
YOU CAN GO BLIND.
YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE SIGNS AND
THE SYMPTOMS.
IT REALLY HAPPENS TO ANYBODY.
FIONA: THIS IS, WHAT, 50
YEARS OLD?
50 YEARS OLD.
SUPPOSED TO BE WHITE, RIGHT?
SUPPOSED TO BE WHITE.
FIONA: IT'S NOT ON TV, BUT I
GUESS NOT.
WHAT IS RETINAL DETACHMENT?
A LOT OF TIMES YOU HAVE TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE RETINA IS.
FIONA: OKAY.
IF I OPEN THIS EYEBALL UP,
THE RETINA IS THE TISSUE THAT
LINES THE BACK WALL OF THE EYE.
I LIKE TO USE THE ANALOGY OF A
CAMERA.
SO YOUR EYE HAS A LENS JUST LIKE
A CAMERA HAS A LENS AND YOUR
RETINA WOULD BE THE FILM FOR THE
CAMERA.
JUST LIKE A CAMERA WOULD BE
USELESS WITHOUT FILM, YOUR EYES
WOULD BE USELESS WITHOUT THE
RETINA.
IT FOCUSES RIGHT TO YOUR NERVE
WHICH GOES TO YOUR BRAIN.
FIONA: DOES IT HURT?
DO YOU NOTICE ANY PAIN?
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE
PAIN.
IF I PINCH YOUR KNEE, YOU'RE
GOING TO SAY OUCH.
BUT YOU HAVE PAIN RECEPTORS IN
YOUR KNEE.
BUT YOUR EYE DOESN'T.
IF SOMETHING TUGS AND PULLS AT
THE RETINA, WE'RE GOING TO SEE A
FLASHING LIGHT BECAUSE THE
RECEPTORS GO OFF.
FIONA: WHAT ARE THE OTHER
SYMPTOMS?
BLURRED VISION?
THE FLASHES OF LIGHT?
BLURRED VISION, DEFINITELY,
THE FLASHING LIGHTS.
OCCASIONAL FLASH, I'M NOT
WORRIED ABOUT.
FIREWORKS GOING OFF IN THE EYE.
DEFINITELY IF IT OCCURRED ON THE
DRAPE, A PERIPHERAL VISUAL CUT
HAPPENS, THAT MEANS THAT THE
RETINA COULD BE DETACHING.
WE HAVE A SLIDE OF --
FIONA: LET'S SEE WHAT WE
HAVE.
THAT'S RETINAL DETACHMENT.
THIS IS A PATIENT.
YOU CAN SEE UP ABOVE THERE, IT'S
KIND OF OUT OF FOCUS.
THE REASON IT'S OUT OF FOCUS IS
BECAUSE THE RETINA IS DETACHED
BY IT THERE.
FIONA: I WAS WORRIED I HAD
BLURRED VISION FOR A SECOND.
DOING GOOD.
FIONA: WE HAVE SLIDES ON --
WHAT IS IT?
ON SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS, RIGHT?
THIS IS --
THIS IS ACTUALLY THE SURGERY.
SO THIS IS A LOT OF DIFFERENT
WAYS YOU CAN REPAIR THE RETINA.
IF YOU HAVE A RETINAL
DETACHMENT, YOU GO TO THE
OPERATING RADIOM TO REPAIR IT.
IF YOU DON'T REPAIR THE
DETACHMENT, MORE THAN LIKELY IT
WILL LEAD TO BLINDNESS.
SO THAT SLIDE WE JUST SHOWED IS
WHAT'S MAKING THREE SMALL INCIGS
AROUND THE WHITE PART OF THE
EYE, OKAY, AND GOING BEHIND THE
EYE, REMOVING THE DENTURES, THE
TRASH OF THE COMPONENT, A
COMPONENT BEHIND THE EYE, REMOVE
IT AND PUT A GAS BUBBLE IN THE
EYE TO REATTACH THE RETINA.
OR YOU CAN PUT OIL IN THE EYE.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GAS
BUBBLE AND OIL, GAS STAYS IN THE
EYE FOR A FEW REASONS,
SELF-ABSORBS YOUR OWN NATURAL
FLUID.
THE OIL BUBBLE STAYS IN THE EYE
UNTIL IT TAKES IT OUT.
FIONA: DEPENDING ON WHAT
PROCEDURE YOU'RE GELLING DONE,
HOW SOON BEFORE YOU PARDON THE
PUN, SEE RESULTS?
IF THE GAS BUBBLE IS IN THE
EYE, TYPICALLY FOUR TO SIX WEEKS
IT TAKES FOR THE GAS BUBBLE TO
GO AWAY.
BUT NOT ALL PATIENTS HAVE
IMPROVEMENT IN VISION AFTER THE
RETINAL ATTACHMENT.
SOME THE VISION WILL STAY THE
SAME.
THE REAL GOAL IS TO REATTACH THE
RETINA AND MAKE SURE THAT THE
VISION DOESN'T GET ANY WORSE SO
YOU CAN KEEP YOUR EYE.
FIONA: WHO'S AT RISK FOR
RETINAL DETACHMENT?
PATIENTS ARE NEARSIGHTED LIKE
MYSELF.
THE EYEBALL IS A LITTLE LONGEVER
THAN THE AVERAGE EYEBALL.
THAT PUTS STRESS ON THE RETINA.
YOU CAN DEVELOP A BREAK.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BREAK, OKAY.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME TRACTION
WHICH COMES FROM THAT VITRIOUS.
AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE FLUID UNDER
THAT BREAK.