2 Scleral Buckle surgeries at once?

[Nikkiemj]

Background: 24 year-old female, -8 prescription in both eyes.

2 weeks ago I went to the optometrist because my right eye was getting the infamous "shade," I had lost a lot of m peripheral vision upwards.  It was a Saturday and after confirming what my googling had made me fear, a retinal detachment, I was referred to a clinic which specializes in such surgeries and told to contact them first thing Monday morning.  I went into the appointment and after the surgeon of 30 years dialated and looked into both of my eyes he told me that both of my eyes had retinal detachments and that I would need scleral buckles for both eyes.  This of course made me hysterical but nevertheless I was scheduled for an emergency surgery on my right eye for that day.

I am now scheduled for a scleral buckle surgery on my left eye for less than a month after my first surgery (March 8 & April 6).  I work in an office job, and using a computer is crucial.  My husband is currently unemployed making me the sole bread-winner, and due to me stupidly using up all my annual leave for Christmas vacation to visit my family I have no more sick days to use up, and short term disability is giving me close to nothing because I have only had the job since a month after I graduated from university (June 2009) so $150 a week isn't going to cut it.

My right eye seems to be healing up pretty nicely, although still red and giving me headaches I can now focus with it, and my glasses help to an extent, although reading with it is still difficult, especially since the surgery didn't fix the wavy line that is now near the center of my vision.  My biggest worry right now is that after my second surgery I could be out of work for months while I wait for my eyes to heal enough so that I can get my new glasses prescription (the doctors won't give me a solid time-period for when I will be healed enough to do this and online I've seen time-lines of 3-6 months)!

Can anyone give me any hope?  Has anyone been through a similar situation before?  I was told that it's rare to get both eyes detached at the same time, especially without any trauma, and I can't seem to find anything online to help me.

[berrywoo]

There are plenty of computer adjustments you can make to help you see things easier if you are having problems, since you don't have a good pair of Rx lenses.
Also, take advantage of using keyboard shortcuts instead of worrying about tracking the mouse cursor, since with a scleral buckle sometimes the eye may feel a bit odd when moving side to side for the first few weeks after surgery.
I think that if the current pair of glasses are still somewhat helpful, then these suggestions should get you through the first few weeks of post-op after the surgery on the left eye. If you want more info PM me.
Hopefully, you won't have anymore surgeries after the buckling on your left eye! Your situation isn't too common, having the retinas of both eyes detach in such a close time frame. I can relate somewhat, since, my first surgery for RD repair on the right eye was less than one week after (what would be) my last surgery on my left eye. Also, I was around your age when I was beginning the RD experience back in 2007.

Best wishes.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

There are many  patients with RD surgery that have shared their experieinces. Find then with the search feature and archives  Your best source of info is your surgeon
JCH MD