Vision return post-vitrectomy

[denise913]

I was diagnosed with a torn retina with a partial detachment.  The tear was first a 10 o'clock, then a 2nd tear was found at 9:00.  I had a pneumoplexy with cryo and laser but 3 weeks later I had another tear at 11:00 and another detachment.  They did a vitrectomy on my approximately 2 weeks ago.  At my last check a week ago, the gas bubble was still at 80%.  My central vision was still good, approx 20/30, prior to the vitrectomy.  I understand that the bubble has to be around 40% or less to have much vision.  My quesiton:  I can see the edge of the bubble but the vision outside the edge is no clearer than through the bubble.  Does this indicate anything or will it remain blurred until the bubble is below 40%?  Thank you.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

With the bubble in the eye you will not be able to tell your final results till its much smaller or gone.

JCH MD

[Dan415]

Denise,

I had a vitrectomy 35 days ago, and while our circumstances were different, here is how my vision progressed during the last 5 weeks.....

I had my vitrectomy on June 23rd for a macular hole.  I remained in a face-down position for 8 days before I was allowed to be in an upright position.  My bubble disappeared completely on the 14th day.  The toughest part for me were days 8-14 when my vision appeared to get worse.  I later found out that this was due to post-operative bleeding inside the eye.

I returned to the doctor on the 17th day after the surgery, and he told me that I could return to my normal lifestyle.  I found that this was a major turning point in the recovery of my vision.  On the 17th day after the surgery I had very blurry vision in my affected eye and could only see opaque images.  (The hand in front of my face was nothing but a big blur.)  But, once I went to work, did a little bit of golfing, and returned to an active lifestyle, my vision improved on a daily basis.  

Last week I went to the doctor, and I am happy to report that I was able to see the top 5-6 lines on the eye chart.  The surgeon also said that the macular hole had successfully been sealed.  He also said that the retina would take 8 to 9 months to completely heal and for the blood to be absorbed into my system.  For this period of time I should expect some glare and distortion, but my eyesight should continue to improve.  Following that I can expect to have a cataract develop, but once that is corrected, I should have normal eyesight.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

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