Shimmering in peripheral vision after photocoagulation

[FordVairogs]

I had laser photocoagulation done around 2 months ago and noticed shimmering in the peripheral vision about 2 weeks after the procedure.

Since then I have been to the retina specialist, they didn't know the explanation for it, but the OCT scan did not show any abnormalities with the retina.

I have read in the forums that shimmering seems to be a common side effect after retina lasers and the effect goes away in time. In my case the shimmering has improved slightly - I notice it only on bright well lit backgrounds (i.e. snow, overcast sky) and it seems less noticeable after a minute or so (but still visible, if I concentrate). So it's probably not the worst case here, yet it's hard to cope.

I would appreciate insight from others - is this something I can expect to go away or should I train myself to live with this? I have seen many questions in this forum about this topic, but none of them have any insights on whether this effect actually went away.

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

Yes that has been discussed many times on this forum and was a common observation in my clinical practice. I hate to be indefinite but no one can tell you what yours will do beyound they usually, but not always, go away with time. I only recall once instance in which the patient was aware of the shimmering a year after treatment.