The operation is aimed at sealing the retinal holes and reattaching the retina to the inside of the eye. We normally carry out the operation under local anaesthetic. You will be awake for the whole operation. You will be aware of bright lights and you may experience some slight discomfort.
Rest assured that you will feel nothing more than a light pressure on your eye if you feel anything at all. In addition to the numbing eye drops, you will be given a mild oral sedation, so although awake, you will feel relaxed. Techniques and technology have nearly eliminated the need for general anesthesia.
What does the operation involve? Various anaesthetic techniques are possible, including a general anaesthetic or a local anaesthetic that is injected around your eye to numb it. The operation usually takes about 90 minutes.
Sedation with local anesthesia (subconjunctival/retrobulbar/peribulbar/sub-tenon blocks) Local anesthesia is a highly utilized technique for ophthalmic surgeries, including vitreoretinal surgeries.
Surgery is done under anesthesia, so it's not painful. After surgery, you may have some amount of pain in the eye. Your eye may be tender, red or swollen for a couple of weeks.
You should avoid exercising for at least 2 weeks following your surgery. You may resume normal activities, little by little. After week 1, you may start by walking as much as a mile. You may advance to 2 miles, in the second week and can typically run by week six.
After surgery for retinal detachment
During the post-operative period: Your eye may be uncomfortable for several weeks, particularly if a scleral buckle has been used.
Sometimes you might to sleep face down for one night after the surgery, it is a hard position to maintain. If you need to be face down then we recommended placing pillows behind your side to prevent you from rolling onto your back for that night.
Lying down: Lie face down on a pillow; have the recovering side of your face hang off the edge of the bed. This helps reduce pain and keeps pressure off your operated eye. Anytime: Use special equipment that can make it easier to stay face down or sideways.
You may have some pain in your eye and your vision may be blurry for a few days after the surgery. Your eye may be swollen, red, or tender for several weeks. If your doctor used a gas bubble to flatten your retina during surgery, you may have to keep your head in a certain position for a few days or longer.
Do not remove the shield / pad until you see your doctor the day after the surgery. It is very important not to rub, bump, or put any pressure on the eye. During the day, you should either wear a pair of glasses (sunglasses, reading glasses, distance glasses are all fine) or wear the hard plastic shield.
During calendar year 2021, 151 uncomplicated primary RRD surgeries were analyzed to determine the final retinal reattachment rate. Retinal reattachment was successfully achieved in 99.3% (150/151) of eyes.
Aging is the most common cause of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. As you get older, the vitreous in your eye may change in texture and may shrink.
Raising your head, flying in an airplane or even traveling to high altitudes during recovery can raise your eye pressure and cause other vision problems. The good news is that your body will eventually refill the gas bubble with your body's own natural fluids.
You do not normally need to stay in hospital overnight. Recovery time after surgery varies. But as a general guide, for 2 to 6 weeks after surgery: your vision may be blurry.
You may be told not to eat or drink anything after midnight on the day of your surgery. Ask someone to drive you home and stay with you for 48 hours after surgery. Tell your provider about all your current medicines. He or she will tell you if you need to stop any medicine for the procedure, and when to stop.
If you have a medical oil called 'Silicone oil; in your eye you should avoid lying flat on your back whilst the oil remains in the eye, this is to reduce the risk of the oil seeping into the front part of the eye causing the eye pressure to become unstable.
If necessary, bathe the eye with cooled boiled water and cotton wool. If no positioning is required, avoid strenuous activity (weight lifting & swimming) for two weeks. Watching TV and reading will cause no harm. Your vision will remain blurred / poor for several weeks.
You may walk, read, and watch TV, but it is important to follow any positioning requirements that your surgeon may have given you. You can resume your normal diet but start with light foods and drink first.
You may have to keep your head face down (parallel to the ground or to the side) for up to several weeks after surgery so the bubble will be in the right position.
You do not need to wear an eye patch after the patch is removed by your doctor one day after surgery. However, we do recommend wearing sunglasses or prescription glasses during the day and a fox shield over the operated eye at night when sleeping for the first week after surgery.
If you have a retinal detachment, it could affect your ability to drive. If you've had or currently suffer from a medical condition or disability that may affect your driving you must tell the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA).
Vision may take many months to improve and in some cases may never fully return. Unfortunately, some patients, particularly those with chronic retinal detachment, do not recover any vision. The more severe the detachment, and the longer it has been present, the less vision may be expected to return.
If you frequently experience stress you might wonder, can stress cause retinal detachment? The simple answer is no, stress cannot cause retinal detachment.
Swelling is normal for about one-two weeks after surgery and will gradually decrease. Swelling may worsen or last longer if you are instructed to maintain any face-down positioning after surgery by the doctor. The eye will be red after surgery. You should see the redness gradually decreasing over the next 3 to 4 weeks.