Scleral buckle and vitrectomy - how long will my eye be bloodshot?

I had scleral buckle and vitrectomy surgery for a detached retina in my eye at the end of March '05. My eye currently has a blueish area above my iris (about the size of a small bean) and my eye is pretty bloodshot (some people ask if I have pink eye). I was wondering when I can expect the blemishes to go away. Thanks to anyone who replies.

[visionquest]

Did you say that tou had a detached retina? I had a detached retina in Jan. of this year. My right eye was bloodshot for about 2 months. During surgery the doctor said that I bleed alot but my bolld pressure was normal. He said that he put a buckle in my eye also. It has now been 8 months since my surgery and the vision in my right eye is mot good. Straight lines have a wiggle to them and the vision is distorted. I end up watching TV with my left eye only. I'm not happy with the outcome. Let me know how you are doing. It's not everyday that you can talk with someone who has has this kind of surgery and ask them how there surgery turned out. I don't have anything to compare mine to. A responce would be helpful. Visionquest

[ms_as737]

My eye is red but not bloodshot. It's been a month since I've had surgery. I can tell a difference from before having surgery. My eyes were uaually white, mainly got red from looking at computer daily. I do have striped lines above bubble in left eye. Vision is not clear. But was told by doctor that it will take some time to clear up. My right eye is a little red also. I had laser surgery in left eye to repair some retinal tears and holes. I purchased a new pair of glasses two weeks before surgery (I didn't know my vision problems was a retinal detachment and that I needed surgery at the time) and my right eye after the laser surgery is sharper and clearer than it was before the surgery.

[misterpoon]

My vision in my eye did decline after surgery, which is normal. Apparently the buckle distorts the shape of the eye, moving the retina further or closer to the lens, which can be good or bad, depending on the distance before the surgery.

When you say "straight lines have a wiggle to them and my vision is distorted" it sounds similar to my situation which is I have an astigmatism. From Merriam-Webster: a defect of an optical system (as a lens) causing rays from a point to fail to meet in a focal point resulting in a blurred and imperfect image. You can get lenses (both contact and for glasses) that will correct an astigmatism, though I'm waiting on my particular kind of contacts (30 day night and day) to come out with their astigmatism correction contacts.

Visionquest, does your right eye now appear normal (has the whiteness fully returned, etc.)

Also, my eye was a little more closed after the surgery (hard to open it as wide) did either of you two have/still have this problem?

[visionquest]

The eye looks normal now. But I can tell you that my vision is not normal. My surgan also sais that it will take up to six months to heal. Well it's been 8 and as I said the eye does look normal but the vision is poor. I have posted some comments on neesee that you should read that way I won't have to type the same thing all over again. I also wanted to mention that my eye doctor not the surgen did not detect the detached retina and gave me a perscription for a new pair of glasses. After finding out that the retina was detached I called mt eye doctor and told him that he should of known that what I described to him was a sign that the retina was detached. I also wanted them to reimburse me the $140.00 they charged to examin my eyes and that agreed and gave me my money back. Thank God I had enough sence not to order another pair of glasses. Do read my other comments in neesee's because there are some things I think you will find helpful. You can reply anytime on visionquest because I think it's very important to know what others are experienceing after surgery for a detached retina. I think we all have many questions and doubts as to what we are being told by our doctors. God bless them. I do believe that there is still a long way to go in the way of retins surgery.

[Chatterine]

I had vitrectomy with encircling scleral buckle 2 months ago on june 10, 2005.  My eye is no longer really red, but has an allover gray, necrotic appearance.  There is a small normal white band directly around my iris, but the rest is gray and appears to have an uneven texture.  Additionally (and i'm really ticked off about this), the scleral buckle is so wide that it distorts the shape of my eye to the point that the difference in shape as compared with my other eye is readily apparent at a glance.  My operated eye is visisbly smaller and rounder than my other.  The band is so wide because the detachment (tractional), though *thankfully* not involving the macula, was very involved.  In ten years, it had progressed from an area of [debatable] localized detachment or schisis to a tractional detachment involving nearly half the eye and coming to the very edge of the macula.  This all unbeknownst to me, as my ophthalmologist all along maintained that it was "stable."  Even the day before surgery he told me that it "looked about the same" and was recommending surgery at that time because I was noticing changes.  All I can say is, get all of the information you possibly can (ESPECIALLY from uncommunicative doctors) and do your own research.  If I had it to do over, I would not have let my parents bully me into staying with a doctor who was so unforthcoming with information.

[SomeCallMeTim]

I had a scleral buckle and and a vitrectomy in May 2005 with a long lasting gas bubble. I had cataract surgery in that eye back in December 2004, followed by a lot of floaters. I torn the retina at the end of April and they successively tried cryopexy(sp?), a laser to "spot-weld" the tear, then it detached, then I had surgery with additional cryopexy and a gas bubble which looked great the next day but hemorraged within the next week for some reason. Then the buckle and vitrectomy.

I have some damage just off center in my vision since I have a gray area there that has little scratches on it...almost like Klingon writing. :)

I think my focal distance has changed, possibly because of the buckle.

I've been diagnosed with a secondary cataract( which the retinal surgeon thinks is affecting my vision)but they want to wait until my eye is white again and settled down before doing that.

When I close my eye the periphery of my eye has patterns like on the bottom of a swimming pool when the sunlight is shining through the water...all shimmery.

It has been tough emotionally for me...I think I'm still mourning the loss of vision in the one eye and worried about the second.

[Ranger02]

I had the buckle surgery on Aug. 25th - eye appears almost normal (from the outside), doctor told me that it might be a year before my vision improves to the best that it will be.  But a minimum four to six months before I see much of an improvement.  I guess I'm lucky at this point, I can see, although not clearly.  Double vision has been very bad, but am delaying corrective lenses for a couple of weeks (in hopes the double vision will correct itself somewhat).

Cataract surgery was June 2004.  A connection? Who knows?

The lack of information from dependable sources is a worry, not to mention concern about my "good" eye.  The DR caught me by surprise, but at least my eye doctor recognized it for what it was and sent me to a specialist (still a two day delay before we could schedule the surgery).

Recommendations for accurate information???  Thanks.

Best of luck to all of you.

[deadeyeduck]

A related discussion, post op was started.