retinal detachment in children

[bob]

Hi All,

This is my first post and would be so grateful to any replies posted.

I am the father of a twelve year old boy who is 100% healthy. This week, he told me that he had a fuzzy eye, so I took him for an eye test thinking he may need glasses. The optician referred me immediately to the eye casualty clinic at my local hospital, Here, after seeing an eye doctor and her study of my sons eye, I was informed that the retina was detached, and seems to have been detatched for some months, or even years. I was then informed that he had about 5% vision in that eye and that it was irrecoverable. He is having surgery this coming week to reattatch the retina, but I am told there will not be a recovery to full vision. My wife and I are distraught at this and would so love to know if there is a possibility of a more positive result from the surgery.

[kkmalaysia]

Poor child but did the doctor tell you what's actually causing the retinal detachment? I do agree with the doctor that chances for full recovery of vision is scarce. But which eye is involved?

[bob]

Thank you for your response. It is the right eye is the problem. The doctor says it could have been slowly happening over a period of time. This seems to be the case as he got a knock to the head recently which may have been responsible for the full detatchment

[kkmalaysia]

does your child have shortsightedness?

[drbalo]

Thank you for your response. It is the right eye is the problem. The doctor says it could have been slowly happening over a period of time. This seems to be the case as he got a knock to the head recently which may have been responsible for the full detatchment

Yes. Trauma is a known cause of retinal detachment in pediatric age group.

[drbalo]

"Overall, anatomical retinal reattachment was achievedin 75.75% cases in spite of lesser percentage of achieved visual improvement (24.2%). This disparity
was due to other negative factors encountered in most of the cases like amblyopic squint due to late presentation, macular scar due to trauma, macular hole, postoperative complications like cataract or prolixferative vitreous-retinopathy, or PHPV, so early diagnosis and treatment are of paramount importance before the development of any of the above mentioned complications, which presents a real challenge to the retinal surgeon."

The above statement is taken from this study

Which means even anatomically the retinal has been reattached, it does not guarantee the return of full visual acuity. Therefore, you have to be mentally prepared. But do be glad that the other eye is normal.

[amanda]

Traditional treatment of retinal detachment involves immediate surgery to repair the retina. Small holes or tears may be sealed with a laser or with cryotherapy (freezing) under local anesthesia in a doctor's office.