# Retinal tear - anyone had laser surgery?



## cowboy joe

Went to the eye doc for a routine exam the other day & was told that I had a torn retina. Doc was emphatic that this was nothing to mess with so they scheduled me straight away for laser surgery. Apparently an in & out procedure which takes less than 30 minutes. Just wondering if anyone else has had this done. If so, wondering what kind of recovery time I can expect. Best they could tell me was between 2 days and 2 weeks depending upon the extent of the tear and how much 'welding' they had to do. Thanks!


----------



## MontanaKJ

The procedure itself is easy and quite common. Your recovery really does depend on the size of the tear. If you didn't notice it, it probably isn't "bad". Plan on a week to be on the safe side. 

Reccommendation: If the give you a Rx for Vicoden. Fill it!! Take one as soon after the surgery as you can. If you allow any pain to set in, it's there for the duration.

Recommendation #2: Follow the doctors orders. If you have to spend a week with your face in a pillow flat on your stomach, DO IT!! It's embarrassing to go back to the opthamologist and explain that you detached your retina because you didn't want to miss a television program.

Good luck with the surgery and keep us updated!!


----------



## Karenrbw

DH had CSR which is basically a "blow out" in one of the vessels behind the retina. The blood built up and caused a blurry spot in the middle of his vision. We went in twice for the laser surgery. He said he could feel the heat and could smell burning when they were working on him. I had to go to drive him, but he said he could see as well after the surgery as before. They dilated his eyes and it was really bright out - take shades.


----------



## agmantoo

cowboy joe
What I had was referred to as a detached retina. I had been forewarned that if I ever saw a bright streak of "lightning" and there was not storm to go immediately to the clinic. My problem occurred on a late Saturday evening and I could not make contact with the Doc. On early Sunday morning I was able to get in touch and he met me at the clinic. I got a double round on the laser, he fired the machine 114 times. The heat hurt but it only took a few minutes to do the treatment. There was no discussion on a recovery period and I was back to my normal routine on Monday. That was 5 years ago and all remains great. Hope your treatment does the same for you, it should.


----------



## cowboy joe

Thanks everyone. Thinking this is a small tear as I only have minor shading, kinda like hair hanging over your eyes...which is a really odd feeling when you don't have any hair to begin with. I'll fill my MP3 player just in case I end up having to be face down...then again, if I'm on Vicoden I'll probably end up that way anyway regardless of the doc's recommendation.


----------



## Sanza

Lol I'm just reading this thread now and it's already 2 weeks old...
How did your surgery go?
I had a detached retina 2 years ago and had to have major surgery on my eye to attach it back and keep it attached and I couldn't put my head down for 3 weeks because of the gas bubble inside the eyeball. One good thing was that I had to sleep upright which was better then being face down for all that time.


----------



## cowboy joe

My surgery isn't until next friday. Just kinda hanging until then. Hoping not to be down too long, if at all seeing how spring is in the air. Starting to see lots of grass and temps in the 40s...too much to do to be sitting on the sidelines.


----------



## cowboy joe

Had my eye surgery on Friday. No biggie. Waiting around for the multiple rounds of drops to dilate my eye was the worst part...I'm not much of one for sitting around waiting. The surgery itself wasn't bad. Actually there was no pain until a few hours later when the anesthetic eye drops wore off. Then it burned for a few hours almost like I had been cutting up hot peppers and got some juice in my eye. Still burns a little now & again but nothing that a drop or two of artifical tears won't alleviate. 

Doc said I was good to go afterwards with no restrictions. Apparently I had a horseshoe shaped tear which he 'welded' over with a few dozen shots from the laser. Guess that just means that I'll always carry a good luck charm with me. The world is still a might fuzzy in that eye. That's OK as he said most of that would clear in a few days. Beats the heck out of the alternative. Still seeing the world with a rose colored tint in that eye which is an after effect of the laser.


----------

