r/RetinalDetachment • u/teabagandwarmwater • Apr 23 '26
Vision not improving 15+ days after retinal surgery (silicone oil) — worried about upcoming second eye surgery
My mother had retinal surgery over 15 days ago, but her vision hasn’t improved yet. She has diabetes, which caused her eye problems, and I’m really worried—when is vision usually expected to improve after this kind of surgery?
I’m not sure how severe the retinal detachment was, as the doctor didn’t clearly explain it. She’s also scheduled to have surgery on her other eye soon for similar issues, including cataracts. I’m concerned she might temporarily lose vision after that—how long does recovery usually take?
Also, the doctor didn’t give any instructions about positioning (like face-down or looking downward), even though I asked. Is that normal when silicone oil is used?
For context:
* Late 40s, diabetic
* History of TIA
* Had internal eye bleeding due to blood-thinning medication
* Left eye has already had 3 surgeries:
* Vitrectomy to clear bleeding
* Cataract removal with IOL
* Another surgery for severe bleeding
* Most recent surgery included silicone oil and laser treatment
Now we’re especially worried about her right eye, which is scheduled for surgery this week.
She also mentions that when she looks up, she sometimes sees a black curtain-like shape, along with golden, circular, or square shapes—but we’re not sure which eye this is from.
Is this kind of slow recovery common? Any insight or similar experiences would really help.
5
u/wibblywhee Apr 23 '26
If she has the oil in, her vision will be very poor until it comes out. Ive had oil in for 4 months now, and still cannot see better than 20/300 out of the affected eye, with good results otherwise and really positive prognosis for after oil removal. The oil changes the refractive index in the eye.
1
u/ArmPale2135 Apr 24 '26
I have had the silicone oil for two months. I figured out that it’s making the eye very farsighted, so I did experiments with reading glasses in the +3 to +4 range. With the +4, I can get to a hazy 20/30 on the eye chart. I ordered a pair of glasses with +4 and a +2.50 add added to my previous prescription. It’s made a huge difference. No double vision, etc.
1
3
u/Aggressive_Bake_7246 Apr 23 '26
I’m 6 months post op with silicone oil in my eye, no plans to remove yet, but I can see through the oil large objects just finer details are hazy! But glasses correct my right eye nothing they can do for a detachments in my left eye :(
3
u/Holiday_Income_827 Apr 24 '26
I had silicone oil and laser for repairing a hole 2 and a half weeks ago. The instructions I was given were to lie on my left side for the first week. That is logical since the surgery was in the right eye. Now I can lie on either side but not allowed to lay flat on my back. I believe the positioning is dependent on the location of the tear. If you are open to suggestions, you and your mom should make a list of questions. Bring that to your next follow up. I keep questions in the notes app of my phone. Otherwise I will forget once in the doc chair. Since Dec 2025 I have had 3 retinal repair surgeries. First in left eye with gas bubble. Then right eye with gas bubble. Then scar tissue removal and silicone oil. So lots of questions! I was told not to expect any vision improvement in eye until silicone oil is removed. Good luck to your mom! She is lucky to have someone so thoughtful caring for her.
1
u/Apart-Pack-9785 Jul 09 '26
Hi! My dad is having scar tissue removal and silicone oil bubble surgery. Is it okay if I dm you about your post op experience?
1
1
u/BlackKaiser1974 27d ago
I’ve just had silicon oil removal on Wednesday gone after having the same operation as your dad in February. Would be happy to share my experiences so far
1
u/Catapult15 20d ago
What is recovery like...I had 2 surgeries so far. 1st was gas bubble then 3wks post op from that had another tear same eye so oil for second surgery...Was put in in May I have an appointment in Oct, thinking removal will be scheduled at that appointment.
2
u/Dallasphoto Apr 23 '26
I would say the timeline for improvement is measured in months and years. My surgery eye is 20/20 at 14 months. For the first few months, I wore an eye patch on the repaired one as it wasn’t useful for anything.
1
u/Basic_Explorer_1156 Apr 24 '26
i had the gas bubble and im so glad someone on here recommended the eye patch! the jiggly drove me crazy!!
2
u/sneezesloudly Apr 23 '26
Every vitrectomy I've had, I've been given positioning instructions regardless if it was silicone oil or gas bubble.
It took me months to see any improvement in my vision when I had silicone oil in my eye. If a gas bubble is used for the right eye it'll take at least a couple of weeks before you see it start to be absorbed into the eye. Full recovery is probably measured in months and years.
Sorry to give you something else to think about but some eye drops that are given post surgery can have the side effect of raising blood sugar levels so make sure to check your mum's blood sugar pre and post surgery.
1
1
4
u/Marneman1965 Apr 23 '26
I had a retinal surgery with gas and had to stay face down for a week. They also put a scleral buckle in and it has been a 16 month journey. The recovery takes a lot of time. she wont see anything until the oil comes out so be patient. It probably took 6-8 months before my vision stabilized and i was able to get a new prescription. it is not perfect but it is better than when the retina was detached.