Retinal Detachment Surgery--Recovery Questions

[Saniya1786]

I am 23 years old and I had retinal detachment surgery in which my right eye was treated with a gass bubble and a scleral buckle for reattachment of the retina. My left eye had small holes and tears which were sealed back by laser treatment. I was told that my retina i the right eye had detached past the macula point. I understand that I will not be able to see fine details and probably will not gain full 20/20 vision back in the right eye. Being that I am so young, what is the likelihood of retinal detachment occuring again and causing complete blindness to my right eye? Also, my job involves constantly being in front of the computer for most of the day. I will be returning to work, after the two weeks of recovery for my surgery are over, will exposing my eyes to the computer or TV monitors adversley effect my vision or the healing process in both of my eyes after two weeks? Is it more likely for scar tissue develop if my eyes are exposed to the stress/strain from working in front of the computer all day?

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear Saniya1786,

During the healing phases, you may notice some symptoms in front of the computer but I would follow the recommendation of your eyeMD.

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California

[berrywoo]

Returning to work after 2 weeks is fine as long as your doctor doesn't have you positioning your head due to the gas bubble. So check with your doctor.
Computer work, watching tv, reading, do NOT effect your eye health, in terms of causing retinal detachment, or reoccurence of a RD (in fact the only thing these activites may cause is dry eye and some eye strain/fatigue).
Scientific research shows that the overall likelihood of developing PVR (proliferative vitreoretinopathy), aka scar tissue, is about 8-10% of all RD cases. The data as far as age and PVR is mixed. Overall the success rate for re-attaching the retina is over 90%. Although the actual visual acuity rates vary, rarely does an RD (in adults) lead to no light perception, even in complex cases.
At only 2 weeks post-op you still have a ways to go in the recovery process so you should still be under the care of your retinal specialist. You should consider asking your surgeon these questions and/or his assistants.