Laser Floater Treatment
About Floaters:
- Floaters are little "cobwebs" or specks that float in your field of vision. They are small, dark, shadowy shapes that can look like spots, thread-like strands, or squiggly lines.
- Floaters are visible only because they do not remain fixed in location. If floaters were still instead of floating around, your brain would automatically ignore them and you would never consciously see them.
- Floaters are suspended in vitreous humor, the clear jelly-like substance in the main chamber of the eye, and will drift in line with your eye movement, causing them to appear to be moving.
- Floaters are more likely to develop as we age and are more common in people who are very nearsighted, have diabetes, or who have had a cataract operation.
- Floaters are considered benign and do not generally affect visual acuity, but they can negatively affect a patient's quality of vision.
- The most common type of floaters are: Cobweb/Fibrous Strand Floaters, Diffuse, Cloud-Like Floaters, and Weiss Ring Floaters, as seen in the image below.
About Treatment:
- Vitreolysis, or laser floater treatment (LFT) is a non-invasive procedure that can eliminate the visual disturbance caused by floaters, therefore improving a patient's quality of vision.
- LFT involves the application of nanosecond pulses of laser light to evaporate the floaters. The end result is that the floater is removed and/or reduced in size.
- LFT is an outpatient procedure, and typically takes 20-60 minutes to perform.
- Reported side effects and complications associated with LFT are rare. Clinical studies have shown LFT to be a safe, effective treatment in the majority of patients.