5 Things I Wish I Knew Before My Vitrectomy

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When it was confirmed that I needed the vitrectomy surgery for my detached retina I first took to google to find a strategy. I had an amazing surgeon but I wanted actual patient experience to walk me through the vitrectomy recovery. Below are the five things I wished I knew before I arrived at the hospital for my vitrectomy.

You will not be able to see anything when they first take off the patch (typically one day after the vitrectomy)

I was warned about this before my surgery but I didn’t quite understand what not seeing meant. For those of you on this journey having limited vision or legal blindness can often look different from what you can expect. Even with a detached retina I could still see certain things like reading the Crest label on my toothpaste! When the nurse removed the patch from my eye the day after my vitrectomy, I could not see anything. My vision was what I would imagine my visibility would be if I was swimming in a glass of milk. I had no visibility when she put her fingers up for me to count, I could only see light and darkness when she waved her hands right in front of my eye. The reason I couldn’t see was due to the gas bubble the surgeon put in my eye to hold my retina flat. My vision would remain blocked until the bubble disappeared about 10 days later.

My experience during the vitrectomy (personal experience!) was not painful but it was the healing process that was challenging.

Right before my vitrectomy my main concern was potential pain during the surgery especially since I was going to be under twilight anesthesia. I assumed once I got past the vitrectomy procedure, then that would be it! Well, that is not quite what happened. In my experience it was the posturing (face down position) that was the biggest struggle. Posturing sounded like such a simple ask to save my vision but it was draining. Your posturing schedule and position will be individual. My routine was every other hour face down for 3 days and then 4 one-hour time periods daily for two weeks. I did not have to posture while sleeping; however, I could not be on my back facing up.

If you have to posture have more than one option available to you

Traveling is my passion so luckily I had plenty of travel pillows in my apartment. Then I bought the travel pillow (image is the main picture in this blog) which is the position I used the most often. Before the vitrectomy I was told that I would not have to posture for a long period of time otherwise I would have rented equipment. Rented equipment would be especially helpful if I needed to posture while sleeping. One of the challenges with posturing is that even if you discover a fantastic, comfortable position after a while it does not stay comfortable and you will be eager to switch it up.

• You will not be able to see anything when they first take off the patch (typically one day after the vitrectomy)
  1. I was warned about this before my surgery but I didn’t quite understand what not seeing meant. For those of you on this journey having limited vision or legal blindness can often look differently than you can expect. Even with a detached retina I could still see certain things like reading the Crest label on my tooth paste! When the nurse removed the patch off my eye the day after my vitrectomy, I could not see anything. It was what I would imagine my visibility would be if I was swimming in a glass of milk. I had no visibility when she put her fingers up for me to count, I could only see light and darkness when she waved her hands right in front of my eye. The reason I couldn’t see was due to the gas bubble the surgeon put in my eye to hold my retina flat and my vision would remain blocked until the bubble disappeared.

Try not to do anything that will strain you that includes… pooping

Before my vitrectomy I was completely unaware of all the ways that your eye manages different types of pressure. For me that included: bending down, lifting heavy objects, pushing anything aggressively (again includes pooping), and any fast movements of my head. Please don’t freak out if you accidentally do any of those actions just aim to keep these stressors to a minimum. Absolutely call your surgeon if you have any concerns or notice any changes in vision. 

Let people help you during this time

Recovery after a vitrectomy is both a physical and emotional process. While you might have the time to manage your life during the healing process it was hard for me to easily process doing activities such as making dinner. Previously, I was so proud of being overly independent but it is so worth it to open up to help. I could not have had my recovery without my mum taking care of a lot of my needs.

It is completely understandable that you can feel overwhelmed when you find out that you need a vitrectomy but it can be the procedure that saves your vision. You can do it!