Scleral Buckle Surgery - Some Questions...

I had a scleral buckle and cryopexy on my right eye after I was diagnosed with a fairly large retinal tear progessing to a non-macular detachment in my right eye.

The surgeon told me it was due to a blow to the eye I took about 6 months prior, and had been slowly progressing ever since.

I had surgery on June 2nd 2011 (so around 5-6 weeks ago) and have some observations/ questions regarding it.my vision is OK, my peripheral vision has returned and although my sight is not as good as it was before ( I was previously -5.75 in this eye I am yet to have it properly tested) at least I haven't gone blind, however:

1) I get "double vision" for about 15-20 minutes after waking up from sleep. I look in the mirror and my eye kind of wanders off to the side. Is this to be expected for a few months?
2) There is still quite a bit of redness in both corners of my eye, especially on the outside where the buckle has been fitted. The white near the centre also has a greyness to it. Is this something I can expect to get better with time?
3) What is more concerning is the aesthetic appearance of the eye. After I have got up and showered and the double vision has gone, the operated eye looks fairly normal in comparison to the "good" , in that the eyelids and cornea themselves look fairly level.... however... I went back to work about 3 weeks after surgery, and I do a lot of computer work. I get little pain/ irritain, however when I come home and look at my eyes my operateed eye looks quite "lazy", in that the upper lid is droopy and the eyeball itself seems to wander downwards so the cornea do not sit level.
Is this something I can expect to get better with time? Is it a bit of fatigue of the muscles caused by the trauma of the surgery?
4) I used to wear contact lenses all the time, monthly ones, however my surgeon has advised me not to wear them for 4-5 months after surgery (I have now stopped using the steriod and antibiotic drops on his advice) Does this sound about right?
Cheers

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

1) yes, sometimes.  The buckle goes under the ocular muscles and could interfere with motility until your eye fully adjusts.  Can take up to 6 months.  More than that and you need reassessment and treatment for it if it bothers you.
2) To some degree.  That eye has had surgery though so you have to expect that there will be some scarring of the conjunctiva and it will likely not look exactly as clear or white as the other eye.
3) You have to give it more time to recover fully.  Hopefully the difference will be a lot less with time.
4) Depends what your eye looks like.  I would follow the surgeon's advice.  You can also expect the prescription in that eye to change (likely increase).

HV