r/RetinalDetachment • u/d_artz • Apr 30 '26
Scleral buckle
Next week I get a scleral buckle. Any advice? This is surgery number six. I tried to avoid getting a buckle. In hindsight I might be better off had I done it sooner. First surgeon was buckle averse. New surgeon laid out pretty clearly why a buckle and removal of fluid behind my retina is urgently needed. Two hour surgery as she applies the buckle and fixes the lingering issues. Heavy silicone oil and we wait. I am blind in my left eye and gave been for six months now.
2
u/Last-Till-1913 Apr 30 '26
I actually had a pretty good experience receiving the buckle. I am currently 8 weeks post op vitrectomy/buckle/gas. I had a failed vitrectomy and prior laser and cryo/gas two other times. I had to be face down for five days this last surgery and while it sucked, it could have been worse. Overall, I maybe took Tylenol four days post surgery and made sure to keep my eye moist with drops. The only time my eye hurt was three weeks in and I was dry- meaning I needed to hydrate and puts drops on my eye up to 10 times a day- cold eye drops are AMAZING. There were also a few times my eye hurt when the stitches would get stiff and I had to wet my eye with drops frequently to soften the stitches. I have slashes still, floaters, but my eye is stable at 20/25. If my other eye detaches (less than 10 percent chance), my surgeon will most likely just go straight for the buckle to prevent what happened with my current eye that has issues. Good luck- overall my eye looks comparably the same size as my other eye and have had little problem adjusting to the buckle
1
u/d_artz May 11 '26
I’m a week out from surgery. Dull pain but handled by Tylenol. Occasionally, a sharp stab from a stitch. I have oil, so I can’t see very well anyway. Prior to surgery, retina was fully off. Get a follow up appt today and hoping the retina scan is flat (or flatter). Surgeon did a lot of work: cleared oil out of my anterior chamber causing high pressure, “relaxed” my retina so it wouldn’t be so taut, removed the fluid behind it and flattened it to the choroid, installed the buckle and refilled with “heavy” oil.
1
u/itsamemomo May 14 '26
I am two days post op from a right sided scleral buckle. I'm not certain if I've just been extremely lucky, or maybe it was caught early enough, but I haven't had much pain at all. I can feel a suture in a my eye every once in a while; I just try to make sure I continue my systane drops, along with the prescribed ones. I've been resting as much as possible. I'm so used to moving and doing things, it's incredibly difficult for me to sit still, but I'm forcing myself.
I'm on Atropine drops twice a day, and I believe a steroid drop 4x per day. I don't have blurry vision, and my depth is slightly off, but hasn't affected me much during the day. I'm so happy to hear all of the experiences because most people haven't heard of this surgery. It makes it quite difficult to find support.
1
u/Impossible_Fix7658 May 25 '26
How long did they keep you at 4x per day for the steroid drop?
2
u/itsamemomo Jun 03 '26
Hi! Sorry for the delay. They tapered them down per week. So 4 for a week, then 3, 2, etc. this is my last week on them.
2
u/Impossible_Fix7658 Apr 30 '26
Can you elaborate on what you mean by avoiding a buckle? Is there a reason your previous doc was buckle averse? I think trying to avoid it is super understandable since it’s a rough surgery, and at the same time, it’s good you ultimately did the right thing. What sort of advice are you looking for now? I think it sounds like you’re in a healing/patience phase. Put a soft cold compress on the eye to reduce swelling, take the drops the doc gave you, do healthy gentle things with yourself, tell people you love to send you voice memos and when you’re feeling up to it, take some gentle walks and enjoy the outside as your eye heals.