retinal detachment surgery

[cpeat]

I was just diagnosed with retinal detachment in my right eye and have surgery scheduled for september 1st, after this surgery will i ever be able to do my job again as im a truck driver for the last 25 yrs? and what is the recovery time on this surgery? ive read some articles that say some people never regain there full visoin back to normal? or cant drive at night or have double vision because of the bubble put in the eye? thnx and any info would be greatly appreciated..

[cpeat]

Had retinal detachment surgery on sept 1st in nashville,tn at va hospital, they said i had several tears in retina to repair. they put a gas bubble in my eye and that buckle around my eyeball, been almost 2 weeks and still very painful and still cant see anything but a big blurr. doctor told me will you get your full eyesight back? i dont know. will you be able to drive a truck again? i dont know.  will you gain your eyesight back? i dont know. lots of i dont knows here. all i know is at this point i really dont know anymore than i did going into the surgery? Other than its very painful. Dr Hagan i have to return to the doctor in nashville in 5 weeks for my next check up, why is my pupil in the eye where i had the surgery very large and my normal eye is normal pupil? Thnx C Peat

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

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[cpeat]

thnx for the info, i dont know the severity of the detachment but the doctor told me the damage is already done so waiting for surgery wont hurt, seems a little weird to me but surgery was put of for 2 weeks after finding out i had a retinal detachment. have surgery scheduled for sept 1st in nashville,tn. thnx again....cpeat

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

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[bziel]

Get it done as soon as possible. I took care of mine the same day. Had about a 30 degree detachment which was done by putting inert gas into the eye and pushing the retina back into place. Depends on the degree of your detachment, but they are ALL serious business.

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

I repeat I can't tell. You need to direct that question to your surgeons. It depends also on the rules and regulations for driving commercially. To drive a car legally you can be completely blind in one eye. For commercial licenses it offen is best corrected to 20/40 in the worse eye. Find out what your job requires you to see in the worse eye and review with your surgeon. They can give you a much better idea than I can.

AND protect your good eye from injury and disease. A RD in the good eye  may have a risk as high as 5-8%

JCH MD

[cpeat]

i really dont know the severity of the retinal detachment, all i know is they have me scheduled for surgery on sept 1st.  Dr Hagan what are the chances of me ever being able to see good enough to drive again as Im a truck driver? thnx for all your info.

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

I can't tell. Sounds like the macula is off.

JCH MD

[cpeat]

im having my surgery done at the va hospital in nashvill,tn and they told me its the soonest i can get it done, also they told me its not going to hurt if i wait bcuz the damage is already done, is that true? thnx cp

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

That's a long time to wait if you have a "macula on" retinal detachment. You might push for surgery sooner or get an emergency second opinion from another retina surgeon. Use the search feature and archives to read the many posts about this type of surgery. There are many many in depth discussions that  answer your questions. It is true that even if retina is reattached vision may not return to normal.

JCH MD