What's a detached retina and macular hole?

Retinal detachemnt: Retinal detachment is a detachment of the retina from the inside of the eye. The portion of retina that is detached leaves the vision completely black in the detached area. Retinal detachment is usually caused by a peripheral hole/tear of the retina. A macular hole is a hole in the center of the macula, the portion responsible for central vision causing varying degrees of loss.

Different disorders: Detached retina occurs in the periphery and can spread to involve the central vision, but sometimes are asymptomatic. Macular holes always cause symptoms of waviness, blind spots, or blurring. Both can be treated with retinal surgery. Macular hole closure rate is best when treated within the first 6 months of developing. There is a 10% risk of developing a hole in the second eye.

Big problem: A retinal detachment caused by a macular hole is a rare problem. It usually occurs in very nearsighted eyes (myopic). Fixing the macular hole fixes the detachment, but given the exact characteristics of such eyes make the fix difficult to achieve. Repairing the macular hole involves a vitrectomy surgery. Most of the times, macula holes occur without developing a retinal detachment.