preparing for retinal detachment

My daughter is having surgery for retinal detachment this week and would like any ideas that relate to the face down position .  the docs office just said be creative (i am not)  what have people used in past?  can she get upright to shower or use the bathroom?  we just got the news yesterday and feel in the dark about how to prepare.
thanks

[berrywoo]

Yes, creativity is key. It's possible to read, use a laptop, watch tv, etc. all while face down.
Depending on how old your daughter is being facedown and doing the above may be pretty easy. If she's pretty young (under 12) staying facedown will probably be a bit more difficult. Many kids (and plenty of adults too) don't have the patience or stamina to remain in a facedown position for long.
When I had to be facedown, I found that placing either an adustable table, or chair next to the side of my bed allowed me to read. Make sure the table/chair is similar or slightly lower than the height of your bed. Then place the reading material on the table/chair and voila, you're able to read face-down. As for watching the tv, place it on the ground with the screen facing up, a flat screen tv works well for this. Same thing for the laptop, just place it on the ground and tilt the screen back as far as it will go. As far as attempting to sleep face down, this is really extremely difficult but possible. The surgical center where the RD repair will be done, may give you foam cutouts that are supposed to help with sleeping facedown, so you can use those.
If none of the above sound do-able, you can always rent equipment, but in my opinion isn't really worth the cost, unless you can't think of any other approach.
Yes, your daughter can do normal activities of daily living (dressing, showering, eating, etc) without being facedown.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Use the seearch feature and archives to read more about macula rsurgery and the needs for face down positionaing

JHC MD

[suzie521]

hi my son is 10 yrs old and had 6 surgerys for reinal detachement this year, he had to face down all the time, all you have to do is make sure she is facing down and when she is going to bed make sure she is facing down or on her side not on her back, at first my son had a hard time but got use to it, how old is your dauther? good luck and hope your daughter gets better

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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