Scott Geller MD and the staff at South Florida Eyehave helped thousands of
patients over the past 20 years. We have the largest series of patients
Worldwide and have the experience to know who can be treated safely. The
prognosis for treatment varies with the type of eye floater, so please review
the information presented carefully. Patients come from all over the World to
our facility, and our intention is to make sure a consultation with us is a
worthwhile experience.
We have grouped patients into several general catagories for simplicity.
MID VITREOUS FIIBRILLAR MASSES
These patients are the EASIEST to TREAT. The age range is usually 40 - 55 years.
A large mass that appears to the doctor like a ball of lint. It is well
suspended in the mid vitreous, and the rest of the vitreous is generally clear.
It OBSCURES the OBjECT the patient is observing, and does not move easily.
There is no posterior vitreous detachment. It is especially disabling to
one-eyed patients. In almost all cases, merely getting it out of the visual axis
has a dramatic effect.
POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT
The separation of the vitreous body from the retina results in a shrunken
jellyfish like bag floating in the sphere of the eye. The bag can contain
fibrillar clumps and strands. Dense ring like or solid structures can be
attached to the surface. These solid structures are easy to treat and in most
cases can be pulverized to the point of minimal or no perception. The masses
inside the bag can be reduced for visual improvement. Even after laser, patients
will have some perception of floaters since the bag itself is still there.
Patients usually range from 45 - 70 years.
VITREOUS SYNERESIS STRANDS
The vitreous gel has liquified somewhat and the normally invisible fibers have
aggregated into many stands and clumps that are very mobile with clear liquid
vitreous in between. Patients are often nearsighted and range from 35 - 70
years. Laser can eliminate a lot, but there still is some floater perception
after treatment.
YOUNG AND POST-LASIK PATIENTS
Patients range from 20 - 33 years. The vitreous is generally clear except for
small opacities close to retina and very mobile. They are often in the central
visual axis within the 'pre-macular bursa' directly in front of the central
retina. They are often no more than 100-200 microns but appear large to the
patient due to the proximity to the retina. In LASIK patients, the suction ring
placed on the eye has literally sucked a peripheral opacity to the central pre
macular area. These floaters tend to be extremely disturbinging to young
patients, and are extremely difficult to treat. Even with success, there are
often some residual opacities. These patients are advised to have their local
ophthalmologist examine them with a 'Goldmann Lens'. It is the ONLY way to
really visualize these floaters. They usually CANNOT be seen with a standard
slit lamp - ophthalmoscope examination. If they can't be easially seen by your
ophthalmologist, they are probably too small or vague to be lasered.
