Light show in eye after 3 retina detachment surgeries

[one_iron]

I have had three eye surgeries for repair of detached retina in my left eye: a scleral buckle in October, and two vitrectomies in November.  The gas bubble finally dissipated fully about 10 days ago.  

I have the perception of shimmering light fairly continuously along the bottom quarter to third of the affected eye, and the perception of a light meteor flying up or down the left side of my peripheral vision perhaps 15-20 times per day.  These symptoms die down over about 15 minutes when I close my eyes to go to sleep.  My retina surgeon tells me these are normal and to ignore them.

Last week, a new light symptom appeared.  Just to the right of the center of vision, a small circle of "solarized" light appears, blocking my vision where the circle is, which grows to the right to about the size of a paperback book held at arms length, decays away from the left side of the circle into a kidney shape, then pieces of solarized light, then disappears.  The whole process takes about 30 seconds.  Last week this was happening just a few times a day, but over the weekend the frequency increased so that now its happening between 1 and 3 times an hour.  My retina seems to remain attached as I have no "shades" and vision (very nearsighted) over the whole of they eye's visual field.

Where this spot appears and disintegrates, there is a waviness to what I see when it disappears.

I haven't been able to locate any information about this kind of light show - kind of like a spot burn that dissipates as I have described.  Is this just another aspect of normal healing of the retina?  

Is my surgeon correct that the other light show effects (shimmering lights and meteors) I've described are benign and will go away on their own over time?

[one_iron]

Thanks for the response.  I went to see my opthalmologist yesterday afternoon, and in a dialated exam he said he saw 2 tiny hemorrages in the retina.  The scleral buckle is "good" and my retina is attached.

He referred me back to my retinal surgeon for a dye infusion test to examine the blood circulation in my eye, because he considers that the new "solarized" light I reported above may be a blood circulation problem in the retina, and not an ocular migraine as was first suspected.

Is there a treatment if this test finds a blood circulation problem, or am I taking this test simply to learn whether the eye will go blind or not?

[jd3450]

After my vitrectomy's I have those flashes.  It's been 5 months and it is not as much  now or I don't notice it as much in my left eye, which went first. My right eye is only 3 months out and did not notice it as much but then again the surgeries caused cataracts in my left and worsened the cataract in my right so maybe I'm not seeing as well in the right.  I do recall them being brighter when I was more stressed.  I have the retina specialist look at this a couple times and found nothing.

...as for vitrectomy's - fix one problem to cause another!

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

These symptoms should get better with time.  Many patients describe many unexplainable symptoms as the retina heals.


Dr. O.