Q: My 63 years old father is suffering from diabetes. One and a half years back, he underwent cataract operation after which he had a retinal detachment in his left eye. The doctor fixed the same with oil and gas treatment. However, again the retina got detached. After this incident we consulted an eminent retina specialist about this problem, who gave a 50% chance of recovery. We consulted another retina specialist and he told us to just leave it as nothing can be done. Presently my father has no vision in the left eye. I have also heard about retina transplant. Will retina transplant help treat retinal detachment?

A:Try to check perception of light in the left eye by shining a bright torch light after totally covering the right eye. If he can perceive the light, this means there is some light in that eye. You can then shine this light from 4 different quadrants i.e. up, down, left and right, if he can then perceive this direction of the lights, this is called projection of rays and then there is a chance of some visual improvement if and when he has another retinal detachment surgery.

Leaving it alone is not a good idea if a surgeon is prepared to do the surgery even when he/she says 50% chance of improvement. Retinal transplant is not available yet.