Irvine Eye Surgeon

Are you looking for an eye surgeon in Irvine, CA?

At Retina Associates of Orange County, we are a surgical retina practice grounded in more than 23 years of clinical experience and training from Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Moorfields Eye Hospital, and Harvard Medical School.

If you have been diagnosed with a retinal tear, a detachment, or a macular condition, surgery is often the treatment that preserves the vision you still have. Our Irvine, CA eye surgeon evaluates these conditions and performs the procedures that correct them. Every physician at Retina Associates of Orange County is board certified in ophthalmology and fellowship trained in vitreoretinal surgery, the subspecialty responsible for retinal repair. Request an appointment online, and we will review your imaging with you at the first visit.

Eye Surgeon Irvine, CA

A retina surgeon operates on the light-sensing tissue lining the back wall of the eye and on the gel pressed against it. This work differs from cataract and refractive surgery in both method and purpose. It uses microscopic instruments passed through the wall of the eye, and it is performed to halt vision loss that has already begun. Irvine had roughly 314,600 residents in 2023, and about 10.5 percent were 65 or older, according to Census Bureau estimates. Age remains the largest single risk factor for retinal detachment and macular disease.

Our practice has treated retinal disease in Orange County for more than two decades, and patients travel to us from every part of Irvine, CA. Many are referred by an optometrist or general ophthalmologist who identified an abnormality during a dilated exam. Others contact us directly after a sudden change in vision. Both groups receive the same evaluation, including imaging on the day of the first appointment.

Eye Surgery Services We Offer in Irvine

Our eye surgeons in Irvine perform the full range of vitreoretinal procedures, in the operating room and in the office. Certain conditions require surgery within days of diagnosis. Others are managed with injections or laser treatment for years before an operation becomes necessary.

• Retinal detachment repair. A detached retina separates from its blood supply and loses function rapidly. We repair detachments with vitrectomy, scleral buckling, or pneumatic retinopexy, depending on the location of the break and the extent of the detachment.
• Retinal tear laser treatment. A tear identified before fluid passes beneath it can usually be sealed in the office. The procedure takes several minutes and prevents a substantial number of detachments from developing.
• Vitrectomy surgery. We remove the vitreous gel when blood, scar tissue, or traction is pulling on the retina. Vitrectomy is the most frequently performed operation in retinal surgery, carried out through incisions smaller than a millimeter.
• Lucentis injections. Lucentis is an anti-VEGF medication used for wet macular degeneration, which leaks fluid beneath the central retina. Injections clear that fluid and, for many patients, hold reading vision steady across years of treatment.
• Avacincaptad pegol injections. This complement inhibitor treats geographic atrophy, the advanced dry form of macular degeneration. Treatment slows the rate at which atrophic patches widen across the macula.
• Diabetic retinal surgery. Bleeding and scar tissue from diabetes may require vitrectomy when injections and laser no longer control the disease. We also treat the macular swelling that reduces central vision in diabetic patients.
• Macular hole surgery. An opening in the center of the retina distorts whatever a patient looks at directly. Repair involves peeling a thin membrane from the retinal surface and placing a gas bubble in the eye.
• Macular pucker surgery. Scar tissue on the surface of the macula contracts and wrinkles the retina beneath it. Removing that membrane reduces distortion and, in most patients, improves central vision over the following months.
• Retinal vein occlusion care. A blocked retinal vein produces bleeding and swelling in the tissue it drains. Treatment addresses the swelling first, then any abnormal vessels that develop in response.

Why Choose Retina Associates of Orange County for Eye Surgery in Irvine, CA?

Surgical Experience That Helped Shape the Instruments

Dr. Desmond McGuire studied medicine at Sackler School of Medicine, completed his vitreoretinal fellowship at the Shiley Eye Center at UC San Diego, and serves as Chief of Ophthalmology at Orange County Global Medical Center. Alcon Laboratories recognized his contributions to the development of its newest vitreoretinal surgical system, a platform now used in operating rooms worldwide. He is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Physicians Who Teach Other Retina Surgeons

Dr. Mrinali Gupta trained at Duke, Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Weill Cornell, and she has authored more than 80 textbook chapters and research publications in retina. She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Retina Specialists. Five fellowship-trained physicians share coverage of our offices, so an urgent detachment can be evaluated the same day it is reported. Patients seeking a retina specialist in Irvine, CA can review each surgeon’s training and board status before scheduling, and several of our physicians enroll patients in studies through our research institute.

Understanding Retinal Surgical Care

Conditions We Treat and Treatment Options

Retinal conditions generally involve traction on the retina, leakage into it, or a break in the tissue itself. Treatment depends on which of these mechanisms is present. Imaging performed at the first appointment usually identifies it.

• Retinal detachment and tears. Flashes, new floaters, and a shadow in the peripheral field indicate a break in the retina. Small tears are treated with laser, while a full retinal detachment requires surgery, frequently within one to two days.
• Diabetic eye disease. Years of elevated blood sugar weaken the vessels supplying the retina. Diabetic retinopathy is treated with injections, laser, or vitrectomy, depending on whether the problem is swelling, bleeding, or scar traction.
• Age-related macular degeneration. The dry form thins the macula gradually, while the wet form leaks and progresses quickly. Only the wet type of macular degeneration responds to injections, which is why the distinction determines treatment.
• Macular holes and puckers. A macular hole opens in the center of the retina and blurs central vision. An epiretinal membrane grows across the retinal surface instead and wrinkles the tissue beneath it.
• Vascular blockages. Retinal vein occlusion causes painless vision loss in one eye, frequently noticed on waking. Treatment targets the macular swelling that follows the blockage.
• Floaters and vitreous bleeding. Longstanding floaters are usually harmless. A sudden increase accompanied by flashing lights is among the warning signs that warrant examination within days, since blood in the vitreous can conceal a retinal tear behind it.

What Should You Expect from Retinal Surgery?

• A dilated exam with optical coherence tomography, and a fluorescein angiogram when blood flow is in question.
• Outpatient surgery in most cases, using local anesthesia with sedation rather than general anesthesia.
• Face-down positioning for several days after any procedure that leaves a gas bubble in the eye.
• Blurred vision for several weeks while the eye settles, which is an expected part of recovery after surgery and does not indicate a failed procedure.
• No air travel and no driving over mountain passes until the gas bubble has dissolved.

What Is the Typical Treatment Timeline?

• Same-week evaluation for flashes, floaters, or a shadow in the vision, with imaging performed at that visit.
• Surgery within one to several days for detachments that threaten the macula.
• An examination the morning after surgery, followed by another at one week.
• Visits every two to four weeks through the first two months, spaced further apart as the retina stabilizes.
• Ongoing injections every four to twelve weeks for macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and vein occlusions.

Timelines vary with age, overall health, and how long the condition went untreated. The retina heals slowly, and follow-up care across the months after surgery carries as much weight as the operation itself.

What Should You Bring to Your First Visit?

• Your insurance card and a photo ID.
• A written list of medications and doses, including eye drops.
• Any imaging, operative reports, or records from a previous eye doctor.
• Sunglasses and a driver, since both eyes will be dilated.

A first appointment for eye surgery in Irvine, CA runs longer than a routine eye exam. Dilation alone requires twenty to thirty minutes, and our patient forms can be completed in advance to shorten check-in.

What Are Some Important California Eye Care Resources?

Patients in Irvine researching a surgeon or a diagnosis have reliable sources available to them at no cost.

• License verification. The Medical Board of California publishes the license status, training, and disciplinary history of every physician practicing in the state.
• Federal eye health information. The National Eye Institute maintains plain-language pages on retinal conditions, including how retinal detachment surgery is performed.
• State chronic disease data. California tracks diabetes and its complications through a state diabetes prevention program, which is relevant to anyone at risk for retinopathy.
• Vitreous and aging changes. Federal resources also explain vitreous detachment, the process responsible for most new floaters after age fifty.

These pages are intended for background reading. They cannot replace an examination, and no online resource can determine whether a break is present in your retina.

Contact Retina Associates of Orange County

Vision loss from a retinal condition is frequently treatable, and outcomes improve when treatment begins early, which is why seeing a surgeon promptly matters after a sudden change in vision. Contact us to schedule an evaluation with an Irvine eye surgeon, and bring any prior records in your possession. New patients reporting flashes, floaters, or shadows are scheduled quickly, since those symptoms can indicate a retinal tear that has not yet progressed. At the appointment you will receive a dilated exam, imaging of both eyes, and a clear explanation of our findings and recommendations. If surgery is appropriate, we will review the procedure, the recovery, and the expected outcome before you make a decision.