After Retina surgery

I had a macular hole which was diagnosed last August. Had a vitrectomy
and cataract surgery in January of this year. The bubble finally
disapeared in March but I now have a silvery, blurry blotch in my
central vision that has not gone away. Dr. says retina surgery was a
complete success. She found that a piece of tissue (called a vitreious
strand) was across my eye and sent me back to the opthamologist who
removed it with laser but I still can't see! Am very disappointed.
Opthamologist told me that I should not expect to be able to see
perfectly because of the vitrectomy. I'm really devastated about this
and am ready to seek another opinion. Anyone else with this
experience???
Nini

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> I had a macular hole which was diagnosed last August. Had a vitrectomy
> and cataract surgery in January of this year. The bubble finally
> disapeared in March but I now have a silvery, blurry blotch in my
> central vision that has not gone away. Dr. says retina surgery was a
> complete success. She found that a piece of tissue (called a vitreious
> strand) was across my eye and sent me back to the opthamologist who
> removed it with laser but I still can't see! Am very disappointed.
> Opthamologist told me that I should not expect to be able to see
> perfectly because of the vitrectomy. I'm really devastated about this
> and am ready to seek another opinion. Anyone else with this
> experience???
> Nini


Macular hole surgery can be frustrating for many patients-
usually there is some improvement after the surgery but
complete visual recovery (to pre-macular hole) is tough
to achieve and not common. Many patients have an unrealistic
expectation regarding their vision and it does lead to a lot
of disappointment. I've seen more than a couple of patients
post-op where they have gained quite a few lines of vision
but still be unhappy.

You can get a second opinion of course but I'm not sure
what would be gained from it( really nothing more can
be done surgery-wise). Sorry.

frank

Just to get my little dig in -- Many Ophthalmologists will deem a
macular hole surgery a "complete success" if the tissue has been
restored and is viable. Whether the patient can see or not does not
matter. I was in the operating room for a fetal retinal cell procedure
to correct a macular hole and the physical results were amazing. The
patient could not see any differently, at least the last time I saw her
3 months later. I have a great deal of respect for the lead surgeon
involved as a surgeon and teacher, but I don't think the patient went
into the operating room simply hoping the retinal repair looked good.