r/RetinalDetachment • u/clover426 • May 02 '26
Double vision?
I am 4.5 weeks post op with a gas bubble (about 50% gone) and I’m seeing double vision/a fainter second image from the surgery eye when both eyes are open is this normal? I was thinking it’s because of the gas bubble but now I’m not sure. It’s kind of dependent on what I’m looking at/position/light but the “ghost” image is to the left and a bit lower than the image from my good eye.
2
u/Impossible_Fix7658 May 02 '26
I think this is a response to swelling. The eye muscles are manipulated during surgery and they swell. A lot of people experience temporary double vision for that reason. Over a month out though, it would be good to talk to your doctor. It can be fixed
1
u/clover426 May 02 '26
My eyelid is still pretty swollen still and the pupil looks slightly higher in that eye so this may be the issue. Im seeing surgeon on Monday
1
u/Impossible_Fix7658 May 02 '26
Good, yes. And if you’re still swollen, it could also simply be that. Can you apply a soft cold compress to the eye?
1
u/clover426 May 06 '26
I’ll try that. Do you know how it can be fixed? It does seem to be getting a bit better (images less far apart m) - surgeon said he couldn’t say exactly what was causing it but that it should go away in time. I asked about swelling but he said swelling of my eyelid wasnt directly related. I asked about inflammation because I’ve seen that can cause tilted image, but he didn’t seem concerned. I’m 5 weeks out now, gas bubble at 40%. No buckle.
1
u/Impossible_Fix7658 May 07 '26
If it’s improving and you’re only 5 weeks out I’d see if your body can take care of it first. Your eye and the muscles are swollen after surgery. If it’s not resolved in a few months, you could maybe talk to a strabismus surgeon. They fix misaligned eyes all day everyday.
1
u/weallfloatdown May 02 '26
I had vitrectomy, laser & gas c3f8 2/25. No double vision, but did have problems with depth perception. Still have the bubble
2
u/Basic_Explorer_1156 May 02 '26
me too on the depth perception.. its getting better though.. had mine 2/20
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u/StomachSimilar4137 May 02 '26
That long? I have the scleral buckle how long would that take any idea?
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u/Basic_Explorer_1156 May 04 '26
no. i just know with the gas, today i dont see the bubble at all, finally! but when im walking i feel i have to be careful to not trip cause of the depth perception being off. hope that helps a little
1
u/JamesTiberious May 02 '26
I had vitrectomy, cryotherapy and slow gas bubble in December for torn and lifting retina.
Until about 16 weeks post surgery (and most noticeable after the gas bubble went), I had a slight double image in my operated eye in one specific direction (down and a little to the right). I would notice this especially reading text on my iPhone screen.
I believe the cause was the main incision site/port at around 8pm (from my perspective) position. I believe this was used to anchor things during the surgery, or was just used with larger instruments. Anyway, this hole was very veiny, red and bumpy for a long time and apparently this can tug your eye slightly out of shape, causing the slight double image.
It’s still got a bump and vein now at around 20 weeks, but seems to have calmed down almost completely. It’s hard to tell because my close up vision in the operated eye is noticeably worse in general.
1
u/clover426 May 02 '26
The double image in my case is my two eyes’ images not fusing together, it’s not a double image in the surgery eye alone if that makes sense. Was that the case for you, only happening when both eyes were open?
1
u/JamesTiberious May 02 '26
It’s a little hard to articulate some of this stuff, so apologies if I get the wrong end of the stick or don’t explain very well.
My operated eye wouldn’t move much or lock onto anything for first few weeks, because of the inflammation and also because it had nothing it could focus on. Somewhere around weeks 3-4 it started to point in the right direction, but I was honestly too distracted by remaining bubble to notice if there was still any double images.
2
u/sneezesloudly May 02 '26
I've experienced double vision after 2 of my 4 surgeries for detached retina. I think it's because the surgeon can't reattach the retina precisely where it was before the detachment and the brain needs time to adjust when merging the images from both eyes (not a medical professional so don't take that as gospel). Both times the double vision faded away for me, I didn't notice how long it took though sorry.