A scleral buckle can be implanted around the eye for certain patients with retinal detachments. In this surgery, a silicone band is placed in contact with the “white” part of the eye (the sclera) to push the outer eye wall closer to the detached retina. Cryotherapy or laser is also applied to the area of the retinal tear during the procedure. The scleral buckle is usually left in the eye socket indefinitely.

For this surgery, the patient is sedated (or sometimes undergoes general anesthesia) in the operating room. Typically, after the scleral buckle procedure the patient will go home (same day) with a patch and shield over the eye. The patient will follow up the next day in the office when the patch will be removed, the eye examined, and eye drops started. You can expect about 4 weeks of eye drop usage after surgery.