Medical Questions » Eyes Questions » Question No. 353
| Question: | My mother is having a vitrectomy. What sort of operation is this? |
| Answer: | The eye contains a clear jelly-like substance called the vitreous. If this becomes discoloured, the vision in that eye will be remarkably reduced, possibly to the point of blindness.
The most common cause of discolouration of the vitreous is bleeding into the eyeball. This can occur in high blood pressure, diabetes and injury. In the last few years, a very delicate operation has been devised in which the blood-stained vitreous can be removed from the eye and a new artificial substance substituted, allowing normal vision again. It is performed under a general anaesthetic by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) who has had specialist training in this procedure.
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