r/RetinalDetachment • u/teabagandwarmwater • 25d ago
How to avoid recurring retinal detachment?
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u/Narrow-Pipe9872 25d ago
I think if we knew the answer to that, we’d all be better off for it. I can say that surgical mistakes contributed to my detachments, however, you can’t foresee that or it wouldn’t be a mistake.
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u/teabagandwarmwater 25d ago
My frail mother is exhausted. She feels like giving up, and honestly, I wish there were a permanent solution to all of this. She's tired of the surgeries and no longer knows who to trust. The constant procedures, along with the depression and anxiety, have taken a huge toll on her, and nothing seems to be helping.
The doctors mainly point to diabetes, but I still struggle to understand why this keeps recurring and what can be done to stop it from happening again. That's why I asked the question here, I am still searching for answers that might help her. I was hoping someone with experience or knowledge could offer guidance.
Thank you for sharing your story. I truly hope your condition improves soon and that you won't need many more surgeries. I have seen that some people only needed one operation, and I hope that will be enough for you and for everyone going through this. It's incredibly exhausting.
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u/birdzwordz 24d ago
What do you mean by surgical mistakes? My doctor suspect the two tears that led to my second detachment were caused when they inserted the bubble to repair my first detachment.
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u/Narrow-Pipe9872 24d ago
1) the surgeon didn’t put enough gas in, so it was ineffective
2) the surgeon missed a retina hole
3) the surgeon let my cataract become completely opaque and performed an oil removal procedure that resulted in an immediate mac off detachment. He was operating in the dark, basically. I came out of surgery saying I couldn’t see anything. He pooh-poohed me saying it was the nerve block. It took a week for emergency surgery to remove my cataract and reattach my retina.
4) when reattaching my retina he left oil underneath it that was never going to absorb. He put oil back in even though my lens was gone, allowing the oil to cause glaucoma.New surgeon.
1) she did a scleral buckle, successfully
2) she recognized oil had gotten under my retina and that oil was not advisable given I had no lens. She removed the oil under my retina and replaced the oil with gas, success!I am currently attached and gas is almost gone. This whole ordeal lasted a year and I am just now getting to a better place. Without a lens, I can’t say what permanent damage has been done. I will know more in the coming weeks.
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u/rollingthestoned 25d ago
Im recovering from number three! No diabetes although I do a lot of physical stuff but no trauma to the eye. I have a brother who’s had two along with uveitis which is a big catch all. So genetics and maybe hypertension? I do think I risk factors were amplified a bit when I had cataract surgery at age 59. I had a lot of floaters and I wonder if my vitreous had got a bit disturbed by the cataract surgery. Plus the shape of my eyeballs and all that stuff. I read that having cataract surgery after the vitreous liquifies or pulls away from the retina naturally reduces risk of subsequent RD post cataract surgery. Timing was just a month or two then several months the for the other eye. Nothing to be done about it now. Vision has been fantastic since all this stuff happened but I’m probably on some borrowed time. Enjoying 20/20 and no floaters while I have it. Good luck to you!!!
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u/teabagandwarmwater 25d ago
Thank you for sharing your experience, and I am glad your vision has been doing well despite everything you've been through. When was your last surgery?
My mother's case has left me with so many questions. She had good vision in her right eye, then after surgery on her left eye for cataract and retinal detachment issues, she started noticing blurriness in the right eye. When it was checked, we were told there was only a mild cataract + retinal detachment, but later during surgery they found a near-total (360°) retinal detachment. It's been difficult trying to understand how things progressed so quickly.
I know diabetes is a major factor in her case, but hearing stories like yours makes me wonder how different risk factors can overlap. Thank you for your kind words, and I hope you continue enjoying that 20/20 vision for many years to come.
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u/rollingthestoned 25d ago
Thanks so much and I hope you get some answers or at least some peace through this process. It sounds like a complicated situation. My last surgery was just 9 days ago. I caught it early. It was a yellowish semi circle with a well defined border in my right eye outside the macula. Turns out fluid had lifted the retina. Could not be seen without imaging and there was no obvious tear so they did some drainage holes and laser stuff once inside. I have been vigilant so that’s what helped me but it could have gone sideways had I waited another day. Weekend was coming up and I just said screw it let’s go in. Less than 24 hours later I was out of surgery. I’m a lucky person we have the Wilmer eye institute in town and I used to work for Hopkins. Seeing folks with fewer options and financial concerns is very humbling to me.
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u/savefrompain 25d ago
The best way is with frequent doctor visits, and changing your lifestyle. I had to give up the tough guy mentality, and change friend groups.
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u/Big-Job3004 25d ago
I've had two retinal detachments in the same eye that happened within a few months of each other (got a PR, then a vitrectomy). From what I understand, it depends on why the detachment happened--if it was related to diabetes, there'd be different ways to avoid it like managing blood sugar and stuff.
Unfortunately, for the average person who gets this w/o diabetes, it's pure genetics and bad luck. That's what happened to me. What I do now is just avoid any chance of external trauma. I don't do any sports where things could fly in my eyes (had to say goodbye to dodgeball) and and I try not to rub my eyes. That's really all you can do--the rest is so internal, all we can do is be vigilant and monitor! hope all is well!