Last Wednesday (May 8), I suspected I had another detached retina. I called my retina doctor at 8:07, got an appointment for 10:00, he confirmed that I indeed had a detached retina, and he had me in surgery by 1 PM. This time was much more serious than my first detached retina, and he installed a “scleral buckle”, which is essentially a silicone band encasing my eyeball. It will be permanent.
I am now one week past the surgery. I went for the surgeon to check it this morning, and he said I am recovering to his expectations, that he is “very happy” with how things look to him. I am still effectively blind in my left eye. He hopes it will be back to normal in 3-4 more weeks.
Wow, Tim - frightening stuff when we are so dependent on our eyes - especially for our hobby of photography!
Any temporary/permanent restrictions on being allowed to drive a motor vehicle?
Obviously you are back using a computer or at the least a mobile phone. Is there any expectation of differences in colour perception?
Lots of questions - it’s my way of showing empathy!
Thanks for sharing, and I hope you make a good recovery “back to normal.”
Sorry that you’ve had to go through this, Tim, but glad that it sounds like the op went reasonably well. I have a friend in Oxford (coincidentally also called Tim) who has some long-term health issues and had to have an op to replace the jelly from his eye. His teenage son thought that it was “cool”
@Tim Hope it is healing as well as last time. Is it the same eye or the other one?
My elderly dog had a deep ulcer in his eye. We attempted minor surgery 3x to no avail. After thousands of dollars with lifelong medical upkeep, he seems to be fine for now. No light to a little going through - he is functionally blind in that eye. He got a lot of trauma from the surgeries because he did not go under for them, and the animal hospital was rough with him. He wailed and screamed for two days after the first attempt. He has settled down since then with no more nightmares but pleasant dreams.
Good luck. I am having symptoms of a retina detaching. I am in close contact with my doctors at Casey Eye Institute in PDX and attached to the VA. They are keeping a close watch one me. It is scary for you and scary for me. All the best in your recovery.