Dry eyes is much more common in women than men and much more common post-menopausal than in younger women. Dry eyes almost always affects both eyes. If your problem is just in one eye, that being the one that had the retina surgery and has persisted then its possible the surgery may have played a role. One method is the eyelid may not work as well or may not close well at night. This would cause your dry eye symptoms to be much worse when you wake up in the morning. I have posted on my home page under blogs an extended posting on dry eye treatment. Start by reading that. If you have symptoms in both eyes then I agree the surgery would not have played a role. the term for that is 'co-incidence" rather than "causal'
Hello, I had vitrectomy for RD in my left eye 7 months ago. My eye was very, very irritated and dry up until the last two months. It felt like constant irritation and redness that would come and go. I am thinking since it was winter and the house was dry it had something to do with it. I used clear eyes pure preservative free several times a day and systane ointment for night. Ran a humidifier in bedroom as well as blocked the furnace duct. I guess I will see how it is after cataract surgery in the next few months and again after we get back into winter. I don't seem to need the eye drops nearly as much now (sometimes days without), but still use the ointment at night. Actually feels and looks pretty good. I have read many posts here that dryness is not uncommon after surgery.