Floaters/debris possible in gas bubble?

Had scleral buckle surgery and vitrectomy w/ gas bubble for detached retina on 11/29. One week checkup showed the retina is stable.

I have noticed, since yesterday, a black "floater" (approximately the size of a thumbnail at arm's length) that hovers on the visible edge of the bubble. It comes and goes and floats just as a plastic ball would float at the top of a pool. If I move my head back and forth, it moves with the bubble's edge. It is opaque. Sometimes there are other, smaller floaters within the bubble. They, too, are not static, but quite buoyant and movable.

I will follow-up with my surgeon at next week's appointment, but was wondering if debris within/along the bubble is typical. Can there be smaller/darker bubbles inside the gas? What else might explain this phenomenon?

Thanks for any input

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

You need to call and discuss this with your surgeon. He knows what he did at surgery.  This can be nothing or a sign of a new tear.

Dr. O.