all the retinal breaks Seal all the retinal breaks Relieve present (and future) vitreoretinal traction There are several methods of treating a detached retina which all depend on finding and closing the breaks which have formed in the retina. Cryopexy and Laser Photocoagulation Cryotherapy (freezing) or laser photocoagulation are occasionally used alone to wall off a small area of retinal detachment so that the detachment does not spread. Scleral buckle surgery Scleral buckle surgery is an established treatment in which the eye surgeon attaches one or more silicone bands (bands, tyres) to the sclera (the white outer coat of the eyeball). The bands push the wall of the eye inward against the retinal hole, closing the break or reducing fluid flow through it and reducing the effect of vitreous traction thereby allowing the retina to re-attach. Cryotherapy (freezing) is applied around retinal breaks prior to placing the buckle. Often subretinal fluid is drained as part of the buckling procedure. The buckle remains in situ indefinitely unless a buckle related complication such as exposure or infection develops. The most common side effect of a scleral operation is myopic shift. That is, the operated eye will be more short sighted after the operation due to the buckle causing the axial length to increase. A radial scleral buckle is occasionally indicated to U-shaped tears or fishmouthing tears. Circumferential scleral buckling is indicated when there are multiple breaks. Encircling buckles are indicated to breaks involving more than 2 quadrant of retinal area, lattice degeneration located in more than 2 quadrants, undetectable breaks, and where there is proliferative vitreous retinopathy. Pneumatic retinopexy This operation is generally performed in the doctor's office under local anesthesia. It is another method of repairing a retinal detachment in which a gas bubble (SF6 or C3F8 gas) is injected into the eye after which laser or freezing treatment is applied to the retinal hole. The patient's head is then positioned so that the bubble rests against the retinal hole. Patients may have to keep their heads tilted for several days to keep the gas bubble in contact with the retinal hole. The surface tension of the air/water interface seals the hole in the retina, and allows the retinal pigment epithelium to pump the subretinal space dry and suck the retina back into place. This strict positioning requirement makes the treatment of the retinal holes and detachments that occurs in the