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Question about Vitrectomy Recovery
My husband had vitrectomy surgery for a macular hole approximately 3 weeks ago. As with many other people posting questions on this web page we have found the surgeon to be horrible about communication. No information is openly given and extremely vague answers to anything you ask. He had an appointment last Friday and got cleared to go back to work because he had been out of work with no pay for 3 weeks. The doctor stated to stay in the face down position when not working.
Here is the scenario. He had a hole pretty much in the dead center of the retina (caused by getting hit in the eye with a bungee cord). Prior to the surgery he could see but where the hole was in the eye many parts of what he was looking at were just missing. An example would be if he was looking at my face, parts of the top left corner of my face would just be completely gone. Anyway, when they did the scan with dye at the beginning it was a rather large hole. They did the scan again last Friday (3 weeks post op) and I can see dramatic differences, but it appears there is a slight pinhole still there. The doctor said it is still needing to seal. We want and need to know if this is him blowing smoke at us, or will the eye continue to heal. My husband says that he still has breaks in his vision. I guess what I and he need to know is will the eye continue to heal and his vision continue to improve, or is what he has now what it is. If that is the case then my husband feels like he wasted money and 3 weeks of no pay from his job to have the same vision.
I am hopefully that you can give me some positive information, so I can give my husband some assurances that it is not over and may take time, but getting answers from anyone at the office just doesn't happen. Everything we have learned is pretty much from the internet, which is what led me to your site.
Thanks in advance for any information you can provide for us,
Gayanne Hamby
Here is the scenario. He had a hole pretty much in the dead center of the retina (caused by getting hit in the eye with a bungee cord). Prior to the surgery he could see but where the hole was in the eye many parts of what he was looking at were just missing. An example would be if he was looking at my face, parts of the top left corner of my face would just be completely gone. Anyway, when they did the scan with dye at the beginning it was a rather large hole. They did the scan again last Friday (3 weeks post op) and I can see dramatic differences, but it appears there is a slight pinhole still there. The doctor said it is still needing to seal. We want and need to know if this is him blowing smoke at us, or will the eye continue to heal. My husband says that he still has breaks in his vision. I guess what I and he need to know is will the eye continue to heal and his vision continue to improve, or is what he has now what it is. If that is the case then my husband feels like he wasted money and 3 weeks of no pay from his job to have the same vision.
I am hopefully that you can give me some positive information, so I can give my husband some assurances that it is not over and may take time, but getting answers from anyone at the office just doesn't happen. Everything we have learned is pretty much from the internet, which is what led me to your site.
Thanks in advance for any information you can provide for us,
Gayanne Hamby
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Dear Gayanne Hamby,
A macular hole occurs in the area of one’s central vision, thus affects one’s sight. After surgical treatment, the vision slowly improves. The amount of improvement depends upon the size of the hole, and the length of time the hole was present. It is difficult to predict on an individual basis how much improvement will occur. The vision does not usually return all the way. Try to be supportive of your husband, and encourage patience and positive thoughts as his body needs to heal.
Dr. Feldman
Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California
A macular hole occurs in the area of one’s central vision, thus affects one’s sight. After surgical treatment, the vision slowly improves. The amount of improvement depends upon the size of the hole, and the length of time the hole was present. It is difficult to predict on an individual basis how much improvement will occur. The vision does not usually return all the way. Try to be supportive of your husband, and encourage patience and positive thoughts as his body needs to heal.
Dr. Feldman
Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California
Sounds like any patience would be wasted on that doctor. If possible, seek another kinder, open person, more willing to answer questions. And you will get a second opinion at the same time. When it comes to the importance of what is going on, there is no excuse for that doctor's behavior, except than an acceptable retinologist is indeed hard to find. They tend to be guided by dollars, rather than ethics, because retinology pays a lot.
If you cannot change doctors there are tactics you can try to reach him.
Their medical training also often lacks, they were not taught that patients are important, too, and that they must develop person-to-person communication skills, Answering your questions is a very important part of his job, so that you can feel the best is being done. That is the patient education that we all need.
I have read that macular hole healing takes time, and the fact that he was injured is likely to make the healing process difference than other kinds of cases.
I had to read myself through my retina treatment, but I have not been trained as a doctor, so it wasa terrible burden. You must be your own advocate, but the doctor must be own your side, also.
I hope your husband's eye heals as much as possible. Have him protect the good eye with goggles or glasses when not sleeping, or around possible perils, like in the kitchen, gatden, workshop, garage, or whatever. Keep writing for support and information. The doctor will answer you soon.
If you cannot change doctors there are tactics you can try to reach him.
Their medical training also often lacks, they were not taught that patients are important, too, and that they must develop person-to-person communication skills, Answering your questions is a very important part of his job, so that you can feel the best is being done. That is the patient education that we all need.
I have read that macular hole healing takes time, and the fact that he was injured is likely to make the healing process difference than other kinds of cases.
I had to read myself through my retina treatment, but I have not been trained as a doctor, so it wasa terrible burden. You must be your own advocate, but the doctor must be own your side, also.
I hope your husband's eye heals as much as possible. Have him protect the good eye with goggles or glasses when not sleeping, or around possible perils, like in the kitchen, gatden, workshop, garage, or whatever. Keep writing for support and information. The doctor will answer you soon.
Any type of injury to the macula is not good. The recovery process takes time. However, the vision may not be fully restored to pre-injury.conditions. It was not a waste of money to try and have this repaired as vision could have worsened and who knows what will happen to the other eye in the future. Just try and be patient. Good Luck.
Dear Gayanne,
As the other posters have noted, communications with one's retinal surgeon can be difficult, but making a concerted effort is often worthwhile. It helps to write down questions in advance, and then at an appropriate time during the appointment, to say you have a few questions, pull out your notebook and pen, and go down the list much as an attending would do before surgery, until there are answers jotted beside each question. Don't apologize for asking questions, don't brush past any that go unanswered, and remember that you are doing it out of love for your husband, who needs your support and persistence right now.
I would rather have a skilled surgeon who isn't much of a talker than a chatty doctor who isn't much of a surgeon, given the choice. I communicate well enough for both sides, and so that is the job I have. It is your job, too, if you accept it. If you have concerns about the medical expertise of your doctor, AND he isn't much of a talker, well I guess the choice is simple.
Recovery from a vitrecomy is very slow and takes much longer than anyone seems to expect. My surgery was in mid-July, and although I still have no visual improvement whatsoever, I am not disheartened, because my surgeon (finally) told me that I have a very good chance of improvement. The important thing is that the macular hole was closed by the procedure, and has remained thus. This means that my vision is not likely to worsen, which it well could have without the surgery. After I pressed a third time about my own recovery and why it seems to be so slow, my surgeon explained that the retinal tissue has to weave back together, since it was torn apart by the hole. That made sense to me and allowed me to give in to the gradual healing process.
We don't live in a world built for spending a lot of time on anything. And yet, in this case, you must spend as much time as it takes to allow this delicate process to unfold. It could take a full year for your husband's healing to be completed, and some patients have noticed improvements for up to five years after surgery.
Don't give up - the end of this hasn't happened yet, and it will be a long time before you can say that his healing is complete. Only then will you know the final outcome of the event. That's hard to grasp, and yet it is so. There is room for hope here, and like the others who posted, I wish you all the best.
M
As the other posters have noted, communications with one's retinal surgeon can be difficult, but making a concerted effort is often worthwhile. It helps to write down questions in advance, and then at an appropriate time during the appointment, to say you have a few questions, pull out your notebook and pen, and go down the list much as an attending would do before surgery, until there are answers jotted beside each question. Don't apologize for asking questions, don't brush past any that go unanswered, and remember that you are doing it out of love for your husband, who needs your support and persistence right now.
I would rather have a skilled surgeon who isn't much of a talker than a chatty doctor who isn't much of a surgeon, given the choice. I communicate well enough for both sides, and so that is the job I have. It is your job, too, if you accept it. If you have concerns about the medical expertise of your doctor, AND he isn't much of a talker, well I guess the choice is simple.
Recovery from a vitrecomy is very slow and takes much longer than anyone seems to expect. My surgery was in mid-July, and although I still have no visual improvement whatsoever, I am not disheartened, because my surgeon (finally) told me that I have a very good chance of improvement. The important thing is that the macular hole was closed by the procedure, and has remained thus. This means that my vision is not likely to worsen, which it well could have without the surgery. After I pressed a third time about my own recovery and why it seems to be so slow, my surgeon explained that the retinal tissue has to weave back together, since it was torn apart by the hole. That made sense to me and allowed me to give in to the gradual healing process.
We don't live in a world built for spending a lot of time on anything. And yet, in this case, you must spend as much time as it takes to allow this delicate process to unfold. It could take a full year for your husband's healing to be completed, and some patients have noticed improvements for up to five years after surgery.
Don't give up - the end of this hasn't happened yet, and it will be a long time before you can say that his healing is complete. Only then will you know the final outcome of the event. That's hard to grasp, and yet it is so. There is room for hope here, and like the others who posted, I wish you all the best.
M
Positive thoughts are so important. Talk to the doctor about this for your husband, orlet your husband talk. He clearly needs to give your husband information, and to reassure him that the outcome could surely be better than his experience at present. If you cannot establish better communication with this doctor, try another,
As doctor Feldman says, no one can know everything now.
I know this is very difficult, but your husband could experience more improvement, and the healing process needs positive energy. I have also experienced vision loss.
As doctor Feldman says, no one can know everything now.
I know this is very difficult, but your husband could experience more improvement, and the healing process needs positive energy. I have also experienced vision loss.
Thank you to all of you that have posted comments to this post. It seems there are so many people out there with similar medical situations and I can only hope everyone gets the best medical help and stay positive. I will keep monitoring this and your posts to gather as much information as possible.
Gayanne
Gayanne
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