Retinal tears—although different than retinal detachment—are often the first stage leading to a retinal detachment. If fluid from within the eye passes through a retinal tear, that can separate the retina from its underlying tissue—and that's retinal detachment. Retinal detachment may happen with no warning, but often there are retinal tear “warning” symptoms of flashes and floaters. If treated during the stage of retinal tear and before full detachment, a simple office laser procedure prevents the need for a more serious retinal detachment operation.
Source:
WebMD
Symptoms
- Seeing dots, circles, lines or "cobwebs"
- Seeing flashes of light or seeing "stars”
- Darkening of your peripheral (side) vision
Treatments
- Laser treatment (photocoagulation)
- Cyropexy