Retinal Detachment, Scleral Surgery aftermath

[anxiousB]

I was diagnosed with retinal detachment and recently had a scleral buckling surgery and silicone oil put in about 6 weeks ago. I am scheduled to have the oil removed and gas bubble put in next month. I know that my vision is going to be blurred with the oil still inside my eye but I notice things appear to look squished. For example, the lamp shade or someone's head look smaller/shorter when compared to my other eye. Is this vision permanent even after my second surgery?

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

All these types of cases are different so it is not possible to generalize. It makes a big difference if the reading part of the eye was detached. Ask your surgeon about that  "Did I have a macula off detachment"  So no one, every your surgeon can tell you exactly what your vision will be like 6 months from now. Know also if a person has a RD in one eye the risk of a RD in the other eye is as high as 5-10%  PROTECT YOUR OTHER EYE, IT WILL LIKELY BE THE EYE YOU HAVE TO DEPEND ON THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

[anxiousB]

Thanks, Dr. Hagan. I am fearful for my other eye. Since RD is unpreventable, other than going to see my ophthalmologist for an annual checkup, what else can I do?

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

Avoid trauma to eye, avoid contact athletic sports, don't do amusement park type rides that whip the head around or involve heavy centrifical force, lead a healthy life style, don't smoke, don't get heavy which increases risk of diabets,  Often we recommend seeing a comprehensive ophthalmologist yearly and a retina ophthalmologist yearly seeing one or the other every 6 months.

[xltjim]

Having had retina detachments in both eyes corrected with victrectomy/gas bubble, cataract repair, YAG Laser, I thought I would throw out some advice and just to add on to the excellent advice given from Dr Hagan.  I found that PATIENCE  is key.  It does take a long time for the eye to heal from this.   In my case it was about a year after the cataract surgery.  During that time I was stressing out and afraid of the outcome.   Trust the doctors but at the same time don't hesitate to call them if something/anything is out of the ordinary.  I had my retina dr on speed dial for some time lol.  I would say my vision recovered quite well, although I do have some anomalies that I didn't have before all this.   The doctors say everything is fine but if anything changes from my "baseline" to call.

Note - while this and other sites are excellent resources don't try to diagnose yourself like i found myself doing.  I was making myself crazy.

I do see my  regualar opthalmologist and retina surgeon annually.  I split these visits up so I am examined by one or the other every six months.

Just some perspectives from a fellow partner in all this.  Regards and best of luck.   Jim

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

Thank you for sharing your experience, glad things went well

[anxiousB]

Thank you for your advice, Dr. Hagan. I lead a healthy lifestyle and will continue to do so, and will find an ophthalmologist for yearly checkup.

xltjim, thanks for sharing your experience. You are correct about being patience and to trust my doctor, and trying not to find answers online because it did cause me to panic with all the different resources and answers from various people. It's difficult to be optimistic but I am working on it.

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

Our retina surgeons tell their RD/Macula surgery patients to not make up their mind about final result for a year post surgery