Vitrectomy/Retinal Detachment Recovery Blog

Documenting my experience with inferior retinal detachment and two surgeries to fix it: scleral buckle and vitrectomy surgery. This is a rare medical diagnosis, and I was really in the dark and often confused throughout the whole process. Hoping this helps someone feel more at peace and understood with their retinal issues. 

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Vitrectomy/Scleral Buckle Surgery

This is my latest post about my retinal detachment issues. If you want to read my entire experience, then scroll to my very first post! I have my one week post op appointment on Tuesday and will update then. :) 

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Surviving my Vitrectomy “Face Down” Recovery

Because vitrectomy recovery consists of having to be “face down” for a week, we had to rent special equipment to aid in my healing. Simply holding your head down for a week is actually impossible and terrible for your body, so please don’t think you can get away with that. My neck and upper back hurt so bad after one day of face down and I had fancy equipment. 

I rented/bought a bunch of different things to help make me the most comfortable. I found an inflatable airplane pillow that is used to sleep on planes that actually would allow me to position correctly while sitting on the couch or in bed. This was a life saver and you need it. Being able to switch between this pillow and my massage chair helped remedy some of my ache. SOME! lol. 

I rented my “face down” chair (its just a massage chair) from a company local to Georgia. Your retinal surgeon definitely has a company that they work with that you can rent from. I rented just a chair -- but most companies have sleeping attachments they can put on your bed for you since you will need to sleep face down as well. Sleeping was the most shitty part by far. 

During the day, I positioned like a champ and passed the time by watching the Olympics and Tiktok and youtube and all the things. My phone was my best friend. I really didn’t end up watching near as much TV as I thought I would and never used those two way mirrors they can give you to watch TV with family. Mostly I just sat on my phone and slept on and off. 

My step-dad actually had a massage table that I thought I would sleep on every night, but that shit was god awful and luckily I ended up just sleeping in my bed facedown by resting my forehead on my arms in a weird position. It took a lot of finagling to find this precise position but it was SO much better than the massage table. Sleeping was uncomfortable and shitty but I got through it. I probably got between 4-6 hours every night. Usually I’m a 9 hour kinda gal. 

Positioning sucked SO BAD and was just as terrible as I thought, but I survived and you will too. If there is one thing you need to take away from this, it’s that you NEED to have someone massage you every night before bed. The pain from staying face down will debilitate you if not. My mom gave me 30 minute massages every night and this helped with my pain SO much. 

The only times you are able to lift up your head normally are to eat, shower, and take your ten minute break. It’s best that you save meal time and showering time for the ten minute break so you position as much as possible. I was SO strict about positioning and you should be too, even if it’s shitty. 

So - I had my surgery on Monday, and on Thursday I noticed new flashes in my left eye. I panicked. Called my surgeon and she said to come in same day just to be safe. The thing about retina surgery is that flashes and floaters are indicative of normal healing, and also that your retina is falling off again. super fun! 

I went in Friday for a check up and my surgeon said everything looked great, and that the flashes I am having are just a part of the healing process. She did see one tiny problem area of fluid that she said she might have to laser off the following appointment, but that other than that my retina looked “perfect.” I was so happy!! I even got to sleep on my side after this appointment since my retina looked so great. I was over the moon and just honestly counting down the days to rejoining society as an upright person. 

Fast forward to today and I am positioning free! My vision is still really distorted and wacky, but I have no discomfort other than feeling like there is something in my eye. I can open my eye basically all the way, but it’s still super red. Still having persistent flashes, but they are small and I’m pretty sure it’s due to that little problem area she saw last time. No curtains in my vision, though. My next appointment is this Tuesday to see if it’s still attached and to see if we will need to laser that spot off. Then I’ll have another check up a month post op. 

I am still really nervous that something will go wrong again. Deep down I have a lot of different concerns: what if this happens over and over again forever? What if this happens in my other eye? What if it never heals correctly? What if I go in on Tuesday and its detached? The uncertainty of it all is terrible. 

Overall - take it easy on yourself. Having surgery, no matter what for, is really overwhelming and a lot to digest -- especially with the recovery that a vitrectomy has. It’s tough, but ultimately we need to save our vision. If any of you have any questions -- feel free to reach out to me on instagram. My handle is kaitlinestark. 

Good luck, friends!! :) 

Face Down Airplane pillow link: https://www.amazon.com/Sunany-Inflatable-Pillow-Airplanes-Earplugs/dp/B07GTGLTYP/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=inflatable+airplane+pillow&qid=1627840280&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A16J5WPPUSUY18&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExWFJDWDUxWjRSUFlBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTAzNDEzMVkzRk5NTjNVMzZVViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODk1NzI0M0I5VzhITlFLNlVGTSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

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Scleral Buckle Recovery

My surgery went well. So glad I went under for it. I woke up in the hospital super groggy from anesthesia and an eye patch on my left eye with little to no pain. Ideal. 

My surgeon let me know that she injected a gas bubble in my eye to help my retina heal. I had to maintain an upright position for 24hrs post surgery so the bubble hit the right spot on my retina, which was easy. I just slept propped up with pillows and was honestly so tired and out of it that it was a non issue. 

I spent the next three weeks continuing my drops and regaining normal vision. I still had pretty persistent flashes (although they looked different than my initial ones) and A LOT of floaters. Flashes and floaters can be normal after surgery, but in my case, this was indicative of a new detachment and a hemmorage in my eye. I just didn’t know yet. 

Then shit hit the fan. My vision improved over the course of a few weeks, and so did my eye cosmetically (the swelling went away, the redness decreased) but I woke up one day with a black curtain over my vision. Half of my eye was covered my this huge shadow, and I knew that something went wrong with the recovery. 

The issue was -- at this exact point in time, I was in LA for work (live in ATL). I was about three weeks post op at this point, and my eye looked totally normal, but I knew my retina detached again. It was honestly kind of devastating to me. The whirlwind of knowing that they would probably have to operate AGAIN and this time have the more intense surgery was crushing. I am a very sensitive person, and was having a hard time. 

I called my surgeon while I was in LA and she referred me to a UCLA clinic that specializes in retinal detachments. They fit me in the same day. The surgeon there confirmed what I thought: my retina was detached. It had actually most likely never healed in the first place because the fluid in my eye never drained. For context: most peoples fluid after scleral buckle surgery drains within a few hours -- mine had been sitting in my eye for WEEKS. Not good. Luckily my macula was still on and looked good, but a new surgery was needed as soon as I got home. But this time, I would need a Vitrectomy. 

A Vitrectomy itself is a super easy surgery for retinal surgeons. They remove the jelly from your eye, repair the retina, and then insert either oil or gas to help support the retina. The thing that sucks ASS about a Vitrectomy is the recovery. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. And I am the faintest of them all. 

Most people have to do what is called “positioning” for up to TWO weeks after a vitrectomy for retinal detachment. This can mean a couple different things, but usually means having to be “face down” for twenty hours a day so that your retina attaches the correct way and is supported by the gas/oil. Yes -- having to hold your head in a downward position ALL the time for up to two weeks. I was SO upset upon being told I would have to do this. I always knew that this was a possibility, but this time it was actually happening and I panicked. How the fuck would I be able to do that? It sounds impossible and honestly I felt like the surgeons don’t realize the toll hearing this news takes on patients. It’s so overwhelming, and that was the worst part of all of this. 

My surgeon said that because I already have a buckle that looks great, and because I have an inferior “macula on” detachment, that I would need to position for 7 days face down, 20 hours a day. I would get one ten minute break every hour. This seemed like an impossible task, and I was completely dreading it. 

The thing is -- the time you position is truly dependent on your surgeon. They are all trained differently, and have different opinions. My doctor I saw at UCLA said that, if he was doing my surgery, I would only have to position for 48 hours. My surgeon in Georgia said seven days. Always follow the directions of your operating surgeon, like I did, but that made me mad. What is with this huge difference in positioning requirement? It seemed wild to me that it can range that much in the same field. 

Next post: how I survived my vitrectomy recovery. 

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Initial Diagnosis

One random night as I was laying in bed, I noticed an arc-shaped flash of light in my left eye. It was super weird and initially I thought nothing of it, but it happened again a few minutes later. I have terrible vision (-8.5 in both eyes) so shit happening with my vision is nothing new to me -- but I ended up googling it. SO glad I did.

Google said that random flashes of light can be associated with retinal detachment in some cases. Surely, I thought, this wouldn’t happen to me since its so rare, but I ended up calling my regular eye doctor to be safe and they told me to come in the next day. That was an alarm to me, so I immediately was anxious.

My eye doctor dilated my eyes and looked into my retina with that super shitty bright light and immediately found the problem. Some regular eye doctors aren’t trained to find retinal issues, but luckily mine was! She said she saw a problem spot and wanted to refer me to a specialist so they could take a closer look. My regular eye doctors office called Georgia Retina for me, and they fit me in the next day. This all happens really quickly, because unfortunately retinal detachment can lead to blindness in some cases if it isn’t corrected.

This was all extremely overwhelming for me. My eye doctor mentioned that if I DID have a detached retina, that I would most likely need surgery to fix it. I was really emotional and quite scared at the thought of not only having surgery, but my vision being affected since it’s already so bad. I have two anxiety disorders and am generally a pretty nervous person, so this was not easy news to digest.

The next day I ended up in another exam room with a retinal surgeon. She confirmed that the flashes of light I saw were because my retina had multiple holes in the bottom of it and had detached because of the fluid that had leaked through the holes. This most likely happened because of my extreme nearsightedness. The issue is -- I am only 22 and this primarily happens in older people. This was a major factor to her as she was deciding how to move forward with correction.

With retinal detachment, there are a couple different ways that surgeons can fix the issue. This mostly depends on whether or not your detachment is considered “macula on” or “macula off.” The Macula is the most important part of your retina and is in charge of making your eye see fine details. If your macula detached, this is a much more serious issue than “macula on” detachment because you will most likely never recover some of your vision. Don’t let that scare you though - these surgeries most often work and you can see just fine after with some corrective lenses. ANYWAYS! Here are some of the ways retinal detachments can be fixed:

1.) a laser. This is an easy ten minute procedure in the doctors office. This is for tears mostly, not full detachments.

2.) Scleral Buckle surgery. This is mostly done on younger patients because it has an easy recovery. The surgeon goes in and basically puts a belt around your eye to help ease the tension on your retina. This surgery relies on your eye to heal itself by draining the fluid from your eye from the detachment.

3.) Vitrectomy surgery. During this surgery your surgeon removes the Vitreous from your eye (the jelly that fills the eye) and is able to directly repair your retina. After they fix the detachment, they place either an oil OR gas bubble in the eye to help support the retina healing back in place.

My surgeon decided that *mainly* because of my age, where my tears were located (inferiorly) and because my detachment was “Macula on” they were going to try a Scleral Buckle first. My surgeon explained that this would be an outpatient procedure that would last about an hour. I would be “awake but sleepy” sedated while they did the surgery.

I said HELLL NO to that. Any surgery where they are digging into my eye I will NOT be awake for. I was proud that I advocated for myself and did general anesthesia because it was a freakin breeze and I don’t remember a thing.

My scleral buckle surgery was three days after my initial diagnosis with my retinal surgeon. And boy was that just the beginning!!!!