Dear Dr. Hagan,
About a month ago, at the age of 60, I had a retinal detachment in my left eye, that involved the macula. The surgeon used both a Scleral Buckle and the insertion of gas (C3F8), which should be there for two months until it is fully gone. While in there, the surgeon also took out a cataract and put in a new lens. The whole surgery lasted about 2 ½ hours. This was my first real surgery ever. The surgeon (just saw him 3 days ago) is quite pleased with how things are going (he has now seen me 1, 7 and 28 days after surgery, with my next visit in 3 weeks). He also said my “good eye” looks great, with no signs of problems there. My question to you is, since i am a very avid mountain biker, will it be safe for me to go back to riding on rocky dirt trails in the mountains (which i used to do about 3 times a week)? I have to admit, as much effort as i put into good technique and safety, about 2-3 times a year i take a good fall (while riding about 6-12 miles an hour), and sometimes i land on a rocky surface. I wear an expensive top of the line full face helmet, goggles or sunglasses and lots of padding in all of the crucial places people tend to land (shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, hands, shins), but still there is a moment of impact. I continued riding within a minute after all of these events, and none of these falls led to more than a purple skin bruise (hip, shoulder, knee etc) that went away in the coming weeks. Still, these are my eyes, and i want to take care of them. If i am in danger of detaching my retina again, i don’t want to do anything that could cause that. Is it ok for me to go back to this sport, or does the potential more impact in falls make it too risky? Could riding on dirt roads (where I have never fallen) through farm country (instead of on single tracks) be a safe or safer option that you could be comfortable with if you don’t love the single track idea?
Thanks very much in advance,
Daniel