1. Attend all your eye checks with your optician and diabetic retinopathy service on time as recommended. This is the most effective way to detect sight-threatening conditions. Your sight can usually be saved with early detection and treatment.  
  2. Good diabetic control will significantly reduce your risk of severe diabetic retinopathy and blindness. However, even with good control some patients still develop sight-threatening retinopathy.  
  3. Good blood pressure control 
  4. Controlling your cholesterol and blood lipids.  
  5. Keeping fit, adopting a healthy lifestyle and maintaining a normal weight.  
  6. Giving up smoking. As well as reducing the risks from diabetes, this will also reduce the risk of several other conditions which are linked to smoking.  

Your best chances of long-term reattachment and visual recovery are also related to the appropriateness, quality and success of the initial surgery, performed as soon as possible. For these reasons you can optimise your chances by choosing an experienced vitreoretinal surgeon, which is typically therefore a Consultant, who personally performs and not just supervises many retinal detachment procedures per year, including highly complex cases.