Ordinarily, a posterior vitreous detachment (or PVD) goes mostly unnoticed, although middle-aged and older adults may see an increase in these floaters particularly against a clear, blue sky or a computer screen, but it can also be quite alarming if one has already suffered from several retina detachments previously.

Such was the case early this September when I noticed a marked increase in these bug-like specks floating in front my left eye; and since I had vision only in that eye,  I immediately phoned my local ophthalmologist to find out what was wrong.  Indeed, after two consecutive visits on a Monday and a Tuesday, he insisted that I make an appointment for the next day at the Baylor Eye Clinic at the Baylor College of Medicine, which is part of the Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

After a rushed 250 mile trip to Houston, however, the diagnosis was less alarming than I thought it would be, although the specialist I visited counseled that in the future I would just have to put up with the inconvenience.  Specifically, he likened having a Posterior Vitreous Detachment to sitting in a chair–the longer I sat in a particular chair, the less I would notice it.  I also soon learned that my brother had had a PVD in his right eye the year before and found the experience very distracting.  He had even contemplated a vitrectomy, a procedure that drains the eyeball of liquefied vitreous gel and replaces it with saline solution.  However, such an elective operation is not recommended in most cases since if anything goes wrong, it may also cause a permanent retina detachment.

Although most adults if they live long enough eventually have a PVD in one or both eyes, it probably occurs sooner in the nearsighted, since myopic vision elongates the shape of the eyeball, thus increasing the likelihood of PVD, or if one has had cataract surgery, YAG laser eye surgery, or has diabetes.  Because I’m nearsighted, have had cataract and secondary cataract surgery, and two laser eye surgeries, it’s not too surprising that my vitreous gel had liquefied and subsequently detached.  However, in all the years I have gone to a retina specialist (Since 1966, I have travelled to Houston for biannual or annual appointments), no one has mentioned this possibility.

All the same, I have had at least two checkups since I returned to my hometown from Houston and will have one more with a local retina specialist in two weeks.  A slight chance exists that a PVD could cause a retina tear or detachment, so it’s wise to monitor my vision.  In the following weeks, I’ve had a narrower field of vision than I’ve had previously, and I was a little more clumsy at first, even tripping over the dishwasher door,  but I’m gradually “fitting into my chair”. 

Still, I wish my retina specialist or my ophthalmologist had told me this was part of the aging process.  Even so, at age 57, I look forward to many years of vision, provided I continue to have regular checkups and alert a retina specialist should I see lightning flashes or if a sudden dark curtain falls upon my field of vision.