Time course of posterior vitreous detachment in the second eye

Posterior vitreous detachment is the principal predisposing event for the development of retinal breaks and rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. Patients with unilateral posterior vitreous detachment are potentially at risk of developing the complications associated with posterior vitreous detachment in the fellow eye. Thus, to identify when posterior vitreous detachment develops in the fellow eye after it develops in the first eye is important for managing patients with unilateral posterior vitreous detachment.

The main theme in the literature is research regarding the mechanism of the development of posterior vitreous detachment. Various pharmacologic vitreolysis agents can induce posterior vitreous detachment. Changes in the enzymatic activities in the vitreous and vitreoretinal interface tend to promote vitreous separation from the inner retinal surface with aging. Clinical studies have shown a significant increase in the occurrence of posterior vitreous detachment with aging, and the interval between the development of posterior vitreous detachment in the first eye and in the second eye is short.

Posterior vitreous detachment is one of the most important age-related changes in human eyes, and age-related changes develop equally in both normal eyes; thus, posterior vitreous detachment may develop in the second eye within a few years of developing in the first eye.