Retinal tear

Last week, I was told I have an operculated retinal tear in my right eye. I had seen 3 different doctors (because of insurance/referral reasons) and they all told me my case didn't look too serious. Before I learned about this, I would see floaters, and I would sometimes see flashes peripherally in my lower right portion of my vision, but only in the direct sunlight. I went to a retina specialist, and he performed a quick laser surgery. A few days after, I started seeing more flashes. Not big obvious strobe-light flashes, like before my surgery, more like small flickers of light. However, I see them all the time. Inside, outside, bright light, and sometimes even dim light. Yesterday, I went to get it checked, and they found no new tears. Is this just a weird side effect of the laser surgery, or should I be concerned?

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

An operculated retinal tear does not need to lasered.

Dr. O.