Please tell me about vitrectomy / Pneumatic retinopexy

[VinoVida]

Going for emergency surgery next week, worried about the whole thing and especially recovery. Would love to hear positive stories please! And any helpful info

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I had a detached retina that required a vitrectomy, retina reattachment with stitches and laser and lens replacement.

Surgery was keyhole micro surgery and I was awake throughout under light sedation so I could carry on a conversation but felt blissfully calm and carefree.

I was walking out of the hospital 30 minutes after the surgery was completed.

Recovery was weird but not painful. I had a gas bubble placed in my eye to hold the retina repair in place and replace the vitreous fluid removed during the vitrectomy. As a result I had to do 'posturing' which meant staying in a facedown position with my nose parallel to the floor at all times for 3 days. At most I was allowed to be upright for 10 mins an hour which was basically to allow for eating and drinking.

This meant walking bent at the waist at a 90 degree angle and that I bought a cheap sunlounger with a face hole which I slept on in the living room and used during the day, I had my iPad positioned underneath so I could watch tv and do games. It was weird.

My eye was very red (pictures included to help you prepare a little as I had not been warned about how unpleasant it would look for a couple of weeks) and I had to wear a plastic shield for the first 24 hours then after that just had to be careful to not get water in it or lay on that side and put pressure on it. I had lots of drops that I had to use for a couple of weeks and the only real discomfort was because I had 3 stitches on the surface of my eyeball which were scratchy when I blinked for about a week.

Vision in that eye was non-existent for the first few days because of the gas bubble, then that slowly started to break down and be replaced by new vitreous fluid and it was like when you're in the pool wearing goggles and you have your eyes half underwater and can see over the waterline. Everyday the water line gradually lowered until it disappeared entirely.

My vision is permanently reduced in that eye but not because of the surgery the surgery did improve my visual acuity a little and prevented complete blindness in that eye, it just couldn't fix the long term damage caused by the underlying fucked-up-ed-ness of that eye.

Overall it was an easy surgery and recovery with some odd moments.

Thanks so much for replying, I so appreciate it. Amazing info! I'm worried about how to manage the posturing for so long, especially with little kids running around. The sun lounger is an amazing idea.

I'm worried about my vision being permanently affected but if I don't have the surgery I'll lose vision completely so am going to have to take the plunge. Thanks again so much x

The sun lounger was not particularly comfortable so if you know anyone with a massage table you could borrow then that might be a more comfortable option. You should definitely ask about posturing first though, not everyone has to do it and there are different positions depending on which part of the retina they are having to fix, so some people have to lay on side and others on back.

I ended up shoring up my lounger with a double duvet folded up as extra padding. It did the job and was only temporary so you find a way.

DD was 3yo when I had it done. DH took 3 days off work and did everything. We explained as best we could and were worried DD would find it hard me not being able to move around or pick her up, but it was actually sweet how tender she was and she took to laying on my back and cuddling me when she needed comfort or thought I did.

Alternatively you can get pillows like this one that you can use on your bed. I decided against it because I worried I'd feel claustrophobic and wanted a more open space below my face.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/woyufen-Massage-Headrest-Adjustable-Comfortable/dp/B0CF57GY9Z/ref=ascdffB0CF57GY9Z?mcid=2ec1b928582539e7b555aa62a2c42f7b&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697268989861&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12212815338553099048&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006668&hvtargid=pla-2274636819091&psc=1&gadsource=1

I also had one of these which was surprisingly comfortable for short periods of time and very useful the day after surgery when I had to travel back into hospital for a check up. It's amazing how heavy your head is and how much your neck aches when you have to have it bent all the time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SPYMINNPOO-Pillow-Portable-Holder-Bracket/dp/B0BZ8JLRZX/ref=ascdffB0BZ8JLRZX?mcid=771ff6143e073e7c9058264b4fe038b0&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697249756456&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12212815338553099048&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006668&hvtargid=pla-2194974998294&psc=1&gadsource=1

I so appreciate all this advice, thank you 🩷

Hi there. I also had surgery and a gas bubble, needed to do the posturing for seven days. Allowed 10 minutes out of an hour to be upright. It’s tough and I set an alarm so I could do it and not miss out. I got a portable and adjustable thing which could be set on a table or at end of bed, as had to sleep face down too. Where in the country are you?

Thank you. It sounds so hard! South west

All went well and ok in the end. Hardest thing was day to day and trying to keep some work going on. Would offer to loan it to you if it helped, am in Surrey.
Audio books helped loads.

I had vitrectomy surgery in 2021 at Southampton Hospital. It was pretty much as other posters have described and recovery was the same - face down for 3-5 days, gas bubble in the eye which looked rather like I was looking out from inside a spirit level. It dispersed quicker than I had been told it would and I had no complications afterwards.

It had been a tough year for my eyesight, though, as I had also been diagnosed with acute angle closure glaucoma and had had to have laser surgery for that a few weeks before the vitrectomy.

I've since had to have cataract surgery as I was warned that the vitrectomy can cause cataracts to form. You can be offered cataract surgery at the same time as the vitrectomy but they didn't do that for me.

Umm also had the caterer act surgery and then a further one to resolve. All ok at the moment, until the other eye needs doing!!!

Umm also had the caterer act surgery and then a further one to resolve. All ok at the moment, until the other eye needs doing!!!

That's so sweet of you - is it like one of the ones linked above? I'll buy one x

Same hospital! They have warned me about cataracts but said it could be years in the future. How long after did yours form?

Two random questions:

1. Did you find an eye patch helpful?

1. Could you shower/have a bath? How long after surgery

Because it's been an emergency I haven't been able to ask really basic questions and they've been reluctant to discuss anything after the surgery with me in detail eg cataracts, preventative methods for the other eye (which is also showing signs of weakness)

Cataracts are fairly common but easy to fix so try not to worry too much about them, you'll have plenty of follow ups and know to watch out for it so you'll be able to get it addressed.

I had a lens replacement as part of the vitrectomy and still ended up with something like a cataract called Posterior Capsule Opacity which is where a film forms over the plastic lens. They were able to remove it with a 5 minute laser treatment.

I didn't use an eye patch, but if you were to decide one would be helpful you can get DH to grab you one from a chemist or supermarket easy enough, they have them in with the medicines on the rotating stand with the pill boxes/thermometers/random little medical things usually.

Thank you @InfoSecInTheCity - I have definitely been catastrophising about later on as well as the op itself! Thinking of when I get back to work and maybe using an eye patch then but I'll see how I go

Hi, it’s this type of equipment which I found helpful, you can rent them. https://www.facedownsupporthire.com/

They eye patch I used for the first 24 hours and then just at night. Screens were a challenge due to the brightness and so if watching any thing then used an eye mask, brought from Amazon, however couldn’t see much without glasses anyway.
Showering, was the last thing I wished to do in 10 minutes upright and so just left it for circa five days. Then after that was ok but avoided water in the eye. 10 minutes vanishes.

I really can't imagine sleeping like this!

You don't have much choice. It's like having a baby. The baby has to come out so you just have to accept you need to do it and you probably won't get much sleep for a while.

This surgery needs to happen so it will and you will do the best you can for a few days after then it will be done.

The kids may watch too much tv for a few days or eat too much junk, you might not get much sleep and end up with a stiff neck, the house might get a bit messy. It's a few days then you'll be up and about and doing stuff really quick.

Thank you, i need to remind myself of this. Not sure how we'll manage with the kids but, like you say, will just have to make it work!

Tbh it was a few weeks later and it happened fast. I saw my optician and he referred me via GP to a more local eye hospital for the cataract surgery.

Did everything get back to normal after the cataract surgery? I'm a bit confused by the potential longer term consequences of the surgery, including cataract removal. Im a bit anxious about if all this means my sight might deteriorate completely as I'm more at risk of recurrent detachments, cataracts and ops. Because it's been an emergency I haven't been able to really ask these questions yet.

I can only speak from my perspective here. My eyesight is quite poor in the eye that had the vitrectomy and cataract. Vision is distorted from the damage caused by the macular hole, and from pre-existing astigmatism. The cataract surgery cleared the sudden cloudy vision but I now have to have a very strong corrective lens in my glasses to enable me to see clearly.

My optician said my left eye wasn't now really good enough for driving, which was quite a shock. But tbh I'm glad they caught the acute angle closure glaucoma found as well in time because that could have left me permanently blind. I can manage with complex vision, and can still see.

Vision in my bad eye is also poor, visual Acuity is low enough for that eye to be classified as 'severely visually impaired' BUT it was buggered before the Serous Macular Detachment. I was born with congenital Coloboma' in both eyes, on the retina in my left eye, which has never caused any issues and on the optic disc in my right eye. That one has always been trouble, the placement meant that fluid would seep in and then recede behind the macular so it would bulge and then flatten. The hole wasn't actually repairable because it was right on the optic disc touching the optic nerve so they had to just watch and wait to see what would happen. That caused its own damage to my vision, then what happened was that one day the 'bulging' basically tore the retina. Add it all together and you have an eye that doesn't do a huge amount anymore beyond see vague shapes and colours.

However it has little to no effect on my life, I can't do magic eye puzzles or watch films in 3D, but because my other eye does a good job my overall vision remains good enough to drive and use a computer and all the other stuff that's part of life.

Your risk of future problems with vision in that eye will be increased compared to other people, but that doesn't mean that the risk is actually high, just that it's not as low as someone else's. Make a list of all your questions and you'll be able to ask them of your consultant when you have your check ups following the surgery, rightfully their focus right now is on the immediate need, and the quicker they fix the detached retina the more likely you are to have a good outcome.

I'm very grateful for everybody reassuring me on this thread. And thank you especially for your sensible response @InfoSecInTheCity - I know you're right about focusing on the immediate. It's feels weirdly vulnerable to have one good eye and so I suppose I'm worrying about that going wrong too. But I'm going to try to adopt your attitude which is much calmer and rational! Thank you