Buckle Recovery

Hi, I am 27 years old and recently had scleral buckle surgery to repair a retinal detachment in my left eye. Aside from a few floaters that I had for several years, the onset was non-symptomatic and I was frankly extremely lucky to locate the detachment during a routine eye exam. I did not have a gas-bubble inserted. My recovery involved 7-days on my back with my eyes closed and the battery of eye drops.

It has been 2 months since the surgery and my recovery has been good according to my doctor. My vision pre-op was -5.25, was -9.00 post op and now is -8.00 (and improving!). I have gone back to contact lenses and have 20/20 corrected-vision in the eye. I have gone back to exercise and normal life. I have also quit smoking!

However, a few issues loom - I still have some fluid in my eye, which appears to be stable from when I had the surgery. The doctor(s) have indicated that fluid after a buckle is normal, and will take time to eventually go away (if it ever goes away). This is not a practical issue, as the only affected area of my vision is the top-right vision of my left eye. Can you comment on this?

My primary question is as follows:

What sports should I avoid now? More specifically, the sport I currently enjoy:

- Race car driving
The conditions that I experience are: 2-4g in lateral and longitudinal acceleration, jarring bumps and rapid direction changes. The vibrations are transmitted through my seat and back, the bumps everywhere.

The safety gear in use is obviously full-face SNELL2005 rated helmet with Head-And-Neck restraint System.

My doctors are of the opinion that I do not have anything to worry about, and that I should primarily avoid direct head & eye trauma (so, no boxing) and should avoid having car accidents. However, I question whether they fully appreciate the physical demands of modern motor racing.

Many thanks!

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

I would like to defer these questions to your surgeon who knows you and the condition of your retina far better than I do.

Michael Kutryb, MD