Surgery
Sometimes there is no alternative to surgery. We work together with you to plan for an appropriate surgical procedure and date that works with your schedule.
Vitrectomy
Surgical interventions are often necessary once the retina has detached or for things like bleeding from diabetes in the eye. Options in treatment include a vitrectomy, where we remove the fluid under the retina that caused it to detach and seal the breaks from inside the eye, and/or scleral buckles, where we use specialized silicone bands outside the eye in order to support breaks and seal them to treat your detachment and re-attach the retina. We may need to use a special gas that will mean you cannot fly or go to high elevations for several weeks, or may need to use a specialized silicone based oil during your surgery. We will work together with you to formulate the optimal treatment plan for your eye and lifestyle.
Procedure:
The eye is numbed with a local anesthetic
Three microscopic, self-sealing incisions are made to allow for surgery
The vitreous jelly inside the eye is removed to allow access to the retina
The retina is repaired
Post-procedure Care
After the procedure, you will be expected to use eyedrops to minimize infection risk and help the eye heal for approximately 1 month. You may need to position your head face down (nose pointed to the floor) for anywhere from several days to a week.
You will come in for regular visits with our office, generally 1 day after surgery, 1 week after surgery, and 1 month after surgery assuming your eye pressure is not elevated and you are healing well. Always call or come in sooner if you have significantly increased pain, loss of vision, or a new symptom.
If you had gas placed in the eye, you should avoid flying and going to high elevations until the gas bubble is gone from your eye.
Things to avoid:
Bending/straining/lifting over 10-15 lbs for the first 2-3 weeks
Tobacco products
Flying if gas is in the eye
Washing the eye or getting it wet as water can have bacteria inside: your eyedrops will clean the eye and there is no need to use any other water
Scleral Buckle
Scleral buckles are permanent silicone implants outside the eye placed in order to support breaks and seal them to treat your detachment and re-attach the retina. These can be placed in isolation, or in combination with a vitrectomy as above.
Scleral buckles decrease your risk of cataract formation compared with vitrectomy, and are often used in younger patients for this reason. They are also used in eyes that had significant trauma or with many breaks all around the eye to prevent new detachments in the future. However, most buckles change the prescription of your glasses (or may mean you have to wear glasses where you did not previously).