Laser treatment for Retinal thin

I got a retinal thin in my right eye. I heard that 6 to 8% of people have this issue. My eye doctor mentioned that I may choose to do laser to fix it.
I would like to know
1.) Using laser to fix the thin area will form a scar in the retinal. How long will it takes to recover ? Will there any side effect to the vision after the treatment
2) How successful will this treatment to avoid to the thin area to form tears.
3) In general, do people do the laser treatment to fix thin area or rather wait until there are tear is formed. Will successful rate will be higher will the laser is done earlier.

Thanks

Taurus

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

I would not recommend laser treatment for area of retinal thinning.  Get a second opinion from a retinal specialist.

Dr. O.

[taurus1203]

Dr Oyakawa:
Would you mind give me some advice on why don't you recommend ? Is it because of the side effect ? Or the chance of a thin retinal develop to retinal tears and then retinal detachment is small ?
I also heard that there is solid statistic  to support that the laser can effectively stop the a retinal thin to tears. Is it true ?
Thanks

Wilson

[taurus1203]

Correction of the original comment


Dr Oyakawa:
Would you mind give me some advice on why don't you recommend ? Is it because of the side effect ? Or the chance of a thin retinal develop to retinal tears and then retinal detachment is small ?
I also heard that there is no solid statistic  to support that the laser treatment  can effectively stop the a retinal thin to develop to tears. Is it true ?
Thanks

Wilson

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

8 to 10 % of the population have retinal tears on autopsy studies.

There are only a few prospective studies.  The best one from the 70's found that 35% of acute retinal tears (horseshoe tears--NOT hole) lead to detachment.  That means 65% do not lead to detachment.  The complications of treatment are macular pucker (epiretinal membrane) and retinal detachment (together 5%). Retinal tears without symptoms (flashes and floater-or a sudden change in floaters) rarely lead to retinal detachment.    

Most patients with thin areas of the retina have lattice degeneration.  Unfortunately, retinal tears occur in areas outside of lattice.   Therefore to prevent a tear, the entire peripheral retina has to be lasered.  This increases the chance of complications such as macular pucker.   I have removed cataracts in patients with multiple old horseshoe tears without have a retinal detachment.  One engineer who had a acute retinal tear about 5 years ago decided to have it followed against my advice and he did not develop a retinal detachment.  4 years later I removed his cataract without a problem.

Unfortunately, there is a benefit to the doctor for treatment and a questionable benefit to the patient.

Dr. O.

[taurus1203]

Dr. O
Just want to clarify. Do you mean
"8 to 10 % of the population have retinal thin ...." or retinal tears.

Basically, you agree with what I heard that no solid evidence showing that a laser treatment can effectively stop tears. It may be more worthwhile to do the treatment when there is actually a tear happen. Do you agree ?

Thanks
Taurus

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Retinal tears or holes.

Dr. O.