The vitreous humor, the substance that fills two-thirds of the eyeball, is vital to vision. The clear, jelly-like material transmits light while maintaining the pressure that helps hold the retina in place. Hemorrhaging, which occurs often in severe diabetes, can cloud the vitreous and impair vision, and loss of its gel-like consistency can result in detachment of the retina. Both conditions can produce blindness.
Doctors now replace lost or damaged vitreous with either natural material taken from donors, saline solutions, air, silicone or other synthetics. None of those materials is completely satisfactory. The...
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