How is scleral buckle done?
Scleral buckle surgery is outpatient surgery done in an operating room – typically in a hospital or ambulatory surgery center. The surgery is done using local or general anesthesia. The scleral buckle is a thin strip of silicone that looks like a belt. It is secured around the eyeball under the thin tissue that covers the eyeball (conjunctiva). It is placed behind the eyelids where it is not visible. The buckle indents the eyewall in toward the detached retina, much like a belt around our waist pushes in toward our belly. Essentially, it moves the wall of the eye closer to the detached retina – narrowing the space between the two layers that need to be together again. The effect would be similar to shifting the wall of a room closer to the loose wallpaper within the room – making it easier for the wallpaper to settle back where it belongs. The surgery usually involves the use of laser or cryotherapy to form a permanent adhesion (“spot weld”) between the retina and the wall of the eye.
