Is the surgical treatment of floaters safe?
The procedure is very safe, but not totally safe! There is an outside chance of incidentally damaging other structures in the eye due to the acoustic shock waves that are generated by the impact of the laser energy on the floaters. Both retinal detachment and cataract have rarely been reported. Retinal detachment is, of course, potentially sight threatening but can usually be repaired successfully. Cataract is eminently treatable although there is still a very small risk of sight-threatening complications in cataract surgery. Cataract following laser treatment occurs immediately. If the floaters are unsuitable for laser treatment then the only other management option is surgical vitrectomy. This involves cutting the vitreous up inside the eye and sucking it out. It is very invasive and carries significant risk to sight, including infection inside the eye, which is potentially blinding, irreversible damage to the retina, and the inevitability of premature cataract that develops over mon
