Laser vitreolysis - breaking up floaters in the vitreous body using a laser
Many patients complain of seeing “flies”, “spiders” or “threads” in their field of vision.These can be very irritating, particularly when on the visual axis. They are usually seen as various shadowy shapes moving around, especially on a light background.They move around, sometimes there are more, sometimes less. They annoy you. The most common cause of such symptoms is thickening of parts of the vitreous body, so-called floaters. These can form for various reasons, often as degenerative changes which come with age.
Treatment
This modern treatment method uses a laser which emits very short (nanosecond) impulses of low energy, which increases the precision and safety of the procedure. The patient’s pupils are dilated for the operation, and a special lens is applied to the anaesthetised eye surface. During the operation, the patient is in a seated position and leans his or her chin and forehead on a support in a microscope designed specially for the procedure. The floaters in the eye are then subjected to the effects of the laser energy. During the operation, the patient may see small dark spots – this is gas formed by the evaporating floaters. The gas bubbles disappear shortly after the operation. Because the floaters inside the eye move around, the patient may be asked to move his or her eyes during the operation. The operation is carried out as an out-patient procedure. The number of therapy sessions depends on the amount and intensity of the floaters. Sometimes one session is enough, but often two or even more are necessary.
Equipment
The operation uses the most modern Ultra Q Reflex vitreolysis laser produced by Ellex.