Mum had an operation to repair a macular hole last year - it was spotted by her optician after she'd noticed odd vision problems (most noticeable when reading, it was as if chunks were missing from the text). She was advised that it isn't always possible to operate, but where they do decide to repair the hole, apparently the results are best if it can be done within six months of the hole appearing.
I think the operation is very similar to what they do with a detached retina; it involves removing the fluid inside the eye, doing the repair, then injecting a bubble of gas to replace the fluid. This bubble pushes up against the repair, keeping everything in place, which is why you have to sit or lie face down for a while, to keep the bubble in the correct position. The bubble then gradually shrinks, finally disappearing completely, by which time the fluid inside the eye has replenished itself (it's actually a different type of fluid that comes in, but probably too much detail to go into that!).
Mum only had to do this 'posturing' for about a week to ten days, but it was a difficult time for her. We took it in turns to stay with her over that time to keep her company and cook for her. You have to spend about 50 minutes at a time face down, but can have a 5-10 minute break every hour - just about enough to have a quick shower, or get some fresh air, have a loo break, whatever... This stage is really important because the success of the operation is much greater if you manage to sustain the correct position for as long as it takes.