Retina & Vitreous Care in Hanover, PA

The retina is the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye, and the vitreous is the gel that fills the eye in front of it. As the vitreous changes with age it can pull away from the retina — usually harmlessly, sometimes not. That is why the same symptoms, new floaters or flashes of light, can mean anything from a routine posterior vitreous detachment to a retinal tear that needs prompt laser treatment, or a retinal detachment that needs surgery.

The honest answer to most retina questions is that the symptom alone does not tell the whole story — the plan depends on what a dilated examination of your whole eye actually shows. A tear caught early is usually a small in-office laser procedure. The same tear left alone can progress to a detachment, and the stakes go up considerably. That difference is measured in days, not months, which is why we treat new floaters, new flashes, or a curtain or shadow over vision as same-call problems, not wait-and-see problems.

This section also covers the conditions we monitor and manage over time: epiretinal membranes and macular puckers, macular holes, retinal vein and artery occlusions, hypertensive changes, choroidal nevi, and the anti-VEGF eye injections used to treat several retinal diseases. Each answer below explains what the condition is, when it is serious, and how it is evaluated at our Hanover office — serving patients from York, Gettysburg, Adams County, and northern Maryland.