What is a Weiss ring floater?
A Weiss ring is a ring-shaped floater that forms when the vitreous, the clear gel inside the eye, separates from its attachment around the optic nerve head. It contains fibrous tissue and supporting cells carried on the back surface of the vitreous. It is a common sign of a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD).
Where does a Weiss ring come from?
It comes from the area around the optic disc, also called the optic nerve head. This is where the nerve carrying visual information leaves the back of the eye. The vitreous lies in front of the retina and has a thin outer layer called the vitreous cortex. Its back surface is often called the posterior hyaloid.
The vitreous normally adheres around the optic disc. When that attachment separates, a rim of tissue can lift away with the posterior vitreous surface. Its circular origin explains the ring shape. Once mobile within the eye, it can become one of the floaters you notice in your vision.
What is a Weiss ring made of?
It is more than a loop of ordinary gel. It consists of fibrous tissue containing collagen and glial cells (cells that support nerve tissue) attached to the posterior vitreous surface around the optic disc.
Most everyday age-related floaters are associated with changes in the fine collagen network of the vitreous. A Weiss ring has a more specific origin: the vitreous attachment around the optic nerve head. This article on what eye floaters are made of explains how rings differ from collagen strands, blood and inflammatory material.
The tissue does not always make a neat, complete circle. A ring can be broken, folded, irregular or partly obscured by other vitreous strands.
In a 2001 study using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, 223 eyes with PVD were examined. Only 28% had a complete Weiss ring. Partial rings, including C-shaped or linear forms, were most common at 57%; 8% had a ball-like opacity. The remaining 7% had an opening in the posterior vitreous surface without a visible rim.
How does a Weiss ring form?
As the vitreous ages, some of its gel becomes more liquid and its attachment to the retina can weaken. When the back surface of the vitreous separates from the retina, this is called a posterior vitreous detachment.
Separation often develops in stages. When the vitreous releases from the optic disc, the attached rim of tissue can move forwards with it, producing a Weiss ring. The ring remains associated with the separated vitreous surface; it is not a new structure growing inside the eye.
A ring shows that release has occurred at the disc. It does not prove that the vitreous has separated from the entire retina. Some peripheral attachments can remain, and the vitreous normally remains attached at the vitreous base towards the front of the eye.
PVD becomes more common with age. It can occur earlier in short-sighted eyes, and may occur after eye injury or eye surgery.
Why is it called a Weiss ring?
It is named after Leopold Weiss who described it in 1897, when he used a direct ophthalmoscope to examine the finding in both eyes of a short-sighted patient.
What does a Weiss ring look like in your vision?
It can look like a grey circle, an oval, a broken ring or a C-shaped mark. Some people notice a larger cobweb or an irregular cluster rather than an obvious ring. The mark drifts with eye movement and may continue moving briefly after the eye stops.
It is usually easier to notice against a bright, plain background, such as a white screen or blue sky. What you perceive is the ring's effect on light reaching your retina. Its density and position influence how sharp or blurred it appears. The article on how floaters cause symptoms explains this in more detail.
A Weiss ring against a bright scene
Illustration of a translucent Weiss-ring shadow against a bright scene. Its appearance varies between people.
Is a Weiss ring the same as a retinal detachment?
No. In a PVD, the vitreous separates from the retina. In a retinal detachment, the retina itself lifts away from the supporting tissue beneath it. They involve different structures.
However, the vitreous can pull on the retina while it separates. This can cause a retinal tear, and fluid passing through a tear can lead to a retinal detachment. A Weiss ring can therefore be present in an eye with a tear.
How is a Weiss ring diagnosed?
An optometrist or ophthalmologist can look for the ring during an examination with dilated pupils. The clinician also examines the peripheral retina for tears and checks for pigment or bleeding in the vitreous. Confirming that the ring is present is only part of assessing new floaters.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans can help show the relationship between the vitreous, optic disc and macula, the central part of the retina. Ocular ultrasound can be useful when the view inside the eye is obscured.
Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) can record a Weiss ring moving in a living eye. In the 2001 study, the ring could appear bright when the focus was on the posterior vitreous surface, or cast a dark shadow when the focus was on the retina.
In vivo imaging of a Weiss ring using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy
What should optometrists keep in mind?
A Weiss ring is evidence of vitreopapillary separation. Assess the onset and change in symptoms, vision, relevant risk factors, vitreous pigment or haemorrhage, and the peripheral retina. Use dilated indirect examination. An inadequate view, suspected break, detachment, pigment or haemorrhage needs prompt ophthalmic assessment.
Absence of a Weiss ring does not exclude a retinal tear. In a prospective study of 1,010 patients referred with new flashes or floaters, 32% of eyes with retinal tears had no visible Weiss ring.
Will the ring disappear?
It may become less noticeable, but it does not reliably dissolve or vanish. Over weeks or months, the vitreous opacity may move away from the most noticeable position and the brain may pay less attention to it. Some people continue to notice it, particularly when reading or looking at a bright screen.
One study followed 89 eyes with recent PVD for six months. In 86 of them (97%), the shape of the opacity was unchanged. This measured its appearance, not how troublesome the floater felt. A ring can remain visible on examination even if you notice it less in daily life.
Does a Weiss ring need treatment?
Many people need observation and reassurance after the retina has been checked. The decision to treat a persistent ring depends on how much it affects daily life, its position and the rest of the eye. Its size on examination alone is not enough to decide.
Watch Dr Chen perform vitrectomy for floaters
Watch on YouTube →YAG laser vitreolysis aims to break up or vaporise a suitable floater. A small sham-controlled trial found symptom improvement in selected patients with chronic Weiss rings. Reported complications include lens damage, raised eye pressure and retinal injury. Read YAG laser for floaters for a fuller discussion of selection and uncertainty.
Vitrectomy removes vitreous containing the opacity. It can reduce symptoms, but it is an operation with risks including cataract progression in eyes with a natural lens, retinal tears or detachment, infection and other causes of vision loss. The decision requires an individual assessment; see vitrectomy for persistent floaters.
There is no established eye drop or supplement that reliably dissolves a Weiss ring.
Other questions
Can a Weiss ring occur in only one eye?
Yes. PVD can develop at different times in the two eyes, so a ring may initially be noticed in only one eye. A similar symptom in the second eye still needs its own assessment.
References
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- Kim MS, et al. Effect of Weiss ring on peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements using SD-OCT . Scientific Reports. 2022;12:17357.
- American Society of Retina Specialists. Posterior vitreous detachment .
- American Academy of Ophthalmology Retina/Vitreous PPP Committee. Posterior vitreous detachment, retinal breaks, and lattice degeneration Preferred Practice Pattern . Ophthalmology. 2025;132:P163–P196.
- College of Optometrists. Examining patients who present with flashes and floaters .
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- Shah CP, Heier JS. Long-term follow-up of efficacy and safety of YAG vitreolysis for symptomatic Weiss ring floaters . Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers and Imaging Retina. 2020;51:85–88.
- Hahn P, et al. Reported complications following laser vitreolysis . JAMA Ophthalmology. 2017;135:973–976.
- Dysager DD, et al. Efficacy and safety of pars plana vitrectomy for primary symptomatic floaters: a systematic review with meta-analyses . Ophthalmology and Therapy. 2022;11:2225–2242.
- Akiba J, Ishiko S, Yoshida A. Variations of Weiss’s ring . Retina. 2001;21(3):243–246.