vitrectomy for floaters - post surgery recovery - day 1

I know that this had to be challenging to deliver this message as concisely as you have but you did really well and I thank you as I have been receiving care for retinal tear with the shrinking of the vitreous. I have a bridge vessel that spans the now lasered tear that has re-bled several times and keeps clouding out my vision so the say I should start considering vitrectomy. I I am now seeking to understand what is the wise choice, to avoid vitrectomy as long as possible or if this is too great a risk of further tearing and possibly worse. Anyhow I will watch your follow-ups. Again, thank you!

Fantastic video packed with excellent info. Thank you!

My story is very similar to yours. The floaters were so bad that it made my vision very poor. You used the word debilitating and that is how I would definitely. Not a few floaters here and there but just a total mess in the eyes.

It is a great quality of life issue. I can no longer drive at night. One eye has been a year and the other eye just happened. I agree it’s torture if you live an active lifestyle and are very independent this is devastating.

Im 60 years old with massive floaters in 1 eye. The Opthamologist noticed i have a small cataract in each eye but i dont notice it. But she suggested cataract surgery first in the 1 eye followed by the FOV. The retina surgeon agreed but also said when he does the FOV......he will do a capsulotomy so i wont have the opacity issue later - a nice clean eyeball and new lens.

i got shower of floaters in both eyes few months after i had lasik and lasik was the biggest regret of my life and now i am planning to do vitrectomy

I have floaters in my left eye but i can ignore them and take measures in not noticing them. i live a healthy lifestyle with all the crucial nutrients that feed the retina and lubricators the eye and maintain a body that’s well hydrated. Plus always wear eye protection, during the summer and winter. winter is worse than the summer, due to the wind and rain. Must protect those eyes.

Hi, Thank you for your vlog. You have certainly done your research, as have I. I, quite suddenly, noticed floaters only in my left eye around 26 years ago; (I had retinal detachement ruled out at the time). I pretty much was told to get used to them, which was extremely disheartening to hear. They weren't bad enough that it became torcherous to live with, but more annoying. I pretty-much just got on with life for the next 22 years. More recently (4 years ago), I was diagnosed with 'narrow angles' and was advised to have cataract surgery to free up some space in my eyes, which was a permanent solution, as opposed to the other option of having a hole made in my eye to relieve the pressure and fluid build-up. So I had the cataract surgery. I can tell you, I was quite cranky at the time, as my vision was perfect and my natural lenses were working just fine, so I hated having to forego my natural lenses for a condition, that if I didn't go to the Optometrist for my usual checks, I wouldn't have known I even had it. FYI, narrow angles is a condition where the fluid in the eyes doesn't have enough room to drain, creating pressure, which can result in experiencing a glaucomic attack, which if not treated immediately, can send you blind, along with being very, very painful, I was told. Post cataract surgery, my eyes just don't feel as fresh and comfortable as they used to pre-surgery. This hasn't resolved, unfortunately. They still feel tired and irritated, as well as being dry. Drops just don't seem to alleviate it. Around 2 years post cataract surgery, I developed a secondary cataract in my left eye (always my left eye🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️!!). I then had the YAG laser, which solved the cloudy issue, however, the surgeon initially didn't create a large enough hole through the scar tissue, leaving me with some annoying peripheral cloudiness. I put up with it for about a year, hoping it would settle down, but it didn't, and so I went back to him to laser a bigger hole to resolve the issue, HOWEVER, since he did that, I now have even more, and bigger, floaters as a result of the laser blasting the peripheral scar tissue, which has kicked up a lot of debris in the eye. I now have new floaters, in particular, one opaque one that keeps crossing my vision and another big black blob with strings and blobs hanging off it, which appears in my vision to be at the top of my eye. I went back to him a couple of weeks after to have the new ones pulverised. He said that he could see the one crossing my vision, but he couldn't get to the big blob that I am seeing at the top of my eye. He said he blasted the one that was annoying me more, however, it returned the next day 😡. I have read that they often settle down over time....weeks/months. I am really, really hoping that they will, but I am not going to hold my breath tbh, as with my floaters, once they're there, then they're there for good it seems with me. I am now regretting getting him to laser a bigger hole following the initial YAG procedure the year before, as it has just kicked up and created more floaters. This is my point to you; in the event that you do develop cataracts, get them done, and develop secondary cataracts, given my experience, this may well create new floaters or more floaters as it has done to me. It would be terrible if after having your PVD surgery, cataract surgery (if needed) and then YAG laser for secondary cataracts (if needed), then this could start your floater problem all over again.

Congratulations your surgery been successful, hope you doing very well. I am suffering from this hell like torture from last two years, I have seen dozens of retina surgeons who do vitrectomy but none of them can see my floaters, my question is, were your eye floaters was visible to doctor while your eye exam before vitrectomy?

Excellent sharing, thank you!

I just had cataract surgery and it went very well no problems but soon after I had capsulotomy so I had YAG surgery on both eyes for floaters now I’ve found out that the floaters are viscous floaters which have to be removed thru Vitrectomy surgery to remove the viscous floaters.

Please.update

Also had floaters. Usually, they faded over time. Then, I got a big floater and need laser to repair the retina. Finally got PVD and macular pucker. Then vision started to get worse. Have to prepare nentally for the opration. Did it 5 days ago. It is always hard when there is a choice to make decision.

Catarcts yet approaching 3 years?

I'd never be able to do a video after that. Wow

I had the vitreous removed from my right eye and had saline to replace it. Floaters are all gone.....BUT....that gave me a quick cataract. My vision turned real dark a few months after that surgery. I then had to have the cataract removed where my cataract surgeon didn't do a very good job. I think he replaced my lens with one that didn't match the left eye. When I look at an object with my left eye that is 10 feet away...the same object with my right eye that had the cataract is 5 feet away. I complained to my doctor and he said I would get used to it. Well, guess what? 5 years later and it's still the same and I can't see right. He said he can't replace the lens. Eye strain 24/7 now.

Cataract 2 weeks after vitrectomy is because surgeon most probably touched the lens during surgery. And I'm not suprised, after vitrectomy because of retinal detachment surgeon don't have to be really careful around the lens, cataract would have come fast anyway because of gas or oil he have to use. When someone have fov (even PVD induced) and the only thing placed inside the eye is air, it's uncommon to have to do cataract surgery within 1-2 years.

You should have waited till you got the final results after a few weeks or even days after you got your surgery and your patch came off? I’ll pray for you! 🥵

Any cataract formation or any other issues?

2 Years post your FOV. If you could measure the success rate and how you feel about the results, what would that % be?