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Retinal Detachment - Causes
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Risk factors for the development of retinal detachment include peripheral vitreochorioretinal retinal dystrophies, existing retinal detachment in one eye, complicated myopia, aphakia, congenital pathology and trauma to the organ of vision (direct and contusion), work associated with excessive physical exertion and lifting heavy objects, the presence of retinal detachment or dystrophies in first-degree relatives.
Retinal detachment is caused by the structural features of this structure. Dystrophic processes in the retina and traction actions from the vitreous body play an important role in retinal detachment.
Vitreoretinal tractions
They occur when the retina is pulled by structures originating from the vitreous body. Traction can be dynamic or static, and distinguishing between the two is key to understanding the pathogenesis of different types of retinal detachment.
Dynamic is caused by rapid eye movements and exerts a centripetal force in the direction of the vitreous cavity. It plays an important role in the pathogenesis of "hole" retinal breaks and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.
Static does not depend on eye movements and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of tractional retinal detachment and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. It can be:
- tangential (superficial), which occurs parallel to the surface of the retina and is a consequence of tension of the enretinal or subretinal membrane;
- anterior-posterior, in which the retina is torn anteriorly to the base of the vitreous body;
- overlapping (bridging), arising between the two halves of the retina along the detached posterior surface of the hyaloid membrane.
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