retinal detachment

[barrwest]

i am 22 and have just found out i need surgery for retinal detachment in my right eye i had a lazy eye as a child and wore an eye patch why has it only just been noticed it has been thought it has always been there as i was 10 weeks premature when i was born and havent shown any symptoms of having a detached retina. Also i have been told to take 2 weeks off work is this neccesary and is there pain after the operation of couse there is but how much i am slight worried about the operation and want advice as i was in shock when i visited the consultant and didn't ask many questions.

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

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[mike230]

If your central vision refraction is still decent, I suspect you may be some light floaters and part of a black curtain effect.  I had the start of a RD, realized the signs and got it taken care of at it's very early stage.  I am 50 years old and as you age, your vitreous (the fluid inside your eye) starts to dry and pull on your retina.  This is called vitreous traction.  My detachment was at the upper right corner and was successfully repaired.  A 23 gauge vitrectomy was performed to get rid of all those floaters from the dry vitreous thus eliminating another vitreous traction.

If having surgery, hopefully you will have the gas bubble method.  The waiting for it to evaporate is a pain in the you know what, but if your macula is still on, then you have an 80% chance of retaining your full vision.  As far as the level of pain on a scale of 1 to 10, in my experience the pain level was about 0.5.  There will be a little scratchiness when you put the drops in the first couple of days.  But with the bubble you will see a solid haze and will not have any useful vision.  When your body produces the new aqueous humor, it will evaporate the bubble and you should have useful vision.  This process lasted me about 6 weeks with the bubble.  But everyone is different and you are a hell of a lot younger than me.  REMEMBER, WITH THE GAS BUBBLE, HEAD POSITIONING IS VERY CRUCIAL AND DO NOT BEND OVER.  BE PATIENT WITH THE HEAD POSITIONING   Make sure you keep up with your drops!!!

If you go with the scleral buckle method, they will put a foreign part in your eye and this will cause you to be myopic (nearsighted).  I hope this helps you and puts your mind at ease.  Please keep me posted.  Good luck!!!!!!!

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

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[Mayalu]

sorry - said it was Dr. Hagan instead of you who said RD needs to be treated quickly - my bad. ;-)

[Mayalu]

Since you were born prematurely you may have had a condition called retinopathy of prematurity or ROP. Ask your doctor about it and also visit the website www.ropard.org for more information. I was born at 24 week gestation and lost my right eye to ROP but fortunately have vision in my left eye. It can cause total blindness but it sounds like you were lucky if indeed you had it when you were a baby. It can cause retinal detachment at infancy and even if it is regressed poses an increased risk for retinal detachment later in life. Retinal detachment like the good Dr. Hagen said is an emergency situation - if untreated it will definitely cause blindness, however the scarring caused by ROP is a lifelong condition.Any baby with ROP should learn the signs of RD when they are old enough to understand - I had a great ophthalmologist who drilled it into me from about the age of 5-6. I was a little afraid anytime I saw floaters in my good eye. Good luck with your surgery.

[berrywoo]

Take Dr. Hagan's advice!!!
(interesting...another ROP patient)

If the retinal detachment has "always been there" then by now it would be completely detached and you'd have no vision out of the eye and surgery at this point would be a complete waste of time and money. If as is most likely the case it is a fairly recent occurance then the macula may or may not be detached which will effect your visual outcome.

Pain depends on many factors including your own pain tolerance. Generally, after surgery you can take OTC meds or ask the dr. for a Rx if those don't work.

You'll probably have to take two weeks off due to positioning restrictions, but check w/ the doctor.

Good luck.

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

You can use the search and archives feature and read many postings from people that have had RD surgery. I would strongly suggest that you make a list of questions and call your surgeon's office and his his/her staff questions that are specific for your situation.

JCH MD