Buckling surgery involves sewing a piece of silicone rubber to the outside of the eye. This produces a dent within the eye and pushes the outer wall of the eye up to the hole in the retina. In most cases the buckle remains permanently and is invisible on the outside of your eye, although you may be able to feel it if you rub your eye after the surgery. It is occasionally necessary to supplement a buckling operation with either a gas or air bubble. Air absorbs faster than gas and both are used as a tool during surgery. A vitrectomy operation may sometimes include a buckling procedure and this is performed in order to increase the chance of success of the surgery.