3rd Retina eye surgery

[notyet50]

I had a retina detachment last year (Aug 06). I had a buckle put on and the Dr. put silicone oil in my eye. My vision returned right away. This year the silicone broke down and attached itself to the inside lining of my eye which casued murky vision and was changing my brown eyes to a color like coffee with cream. (I refered to it as my creepy eye) I had a vitrectomy with laser membrane peel and air/gas/fluid exchange. 10 days later (Aug 31) I have surgery again because my retina detached and the Dr. put the silicone back in. He said the fluid exchange didn't hold my retina. My vision is still dark at the top of of my eye. The Dr. says I'm going to have to have catarac surgery next year and the silicone oil removed again.. I'm worried about several things.
1) Will the blackness ever disappear and my vision return? If not am I considered partially blind?
2) Why did the silicone break down inside my eye?
3) Is it normal to have surgery every year to replace the oil? If not please advise.

Thanks
Worried Na Na...notyet50

[notyet50]

Thank you for your response. I was hoping for more info on the silicone. and why it isn't a more permanent fix.

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

1. There is no way to tell if the retina detached area will recover. It often takes up to a year for healing to be completed. A retina that was detached and then is successfully reattached often does not make a complete recovery, this is especially true if the macula was detached.
2. You will need to seek clarification of this issue by your retina surgeon.
3. No it's not the usual case but like #2 you need to clarify the issue with your surgeon.

JCH III MD