Vitrectomy: Symptoms, Classification, Diagnosis & Recovery

You ophthalmologist will conduct a thorough examination of your eyes before the procedure. He or she would advise specific things that you need to do before the procedure.

The following are some of the questions that you should ask your ophthalmologist before the surgery:

• Does my surgery require an overnight stay?
• Do I need to stop or start taking any medications?
• Should I avoid specific foods and drinks days before the surgery?
• What type of anaesthesia would I be getting before the surgery?
• How long is the surgery?
• What precautions do I need to take after the surgery?

The doctor may want to conduct a comprehensive eye test, including an ultrasound of the eye to have a closer look at the retina before the surgery.

The vitreous humour or retinal surgery is usually performed after administering general anaesthesia to the patient. However, this may be avoided and local anaesthesia may be involved in a few cases instead. This is usually done in special cases where the patient in concern has some breathing troubles.

The incisions are made so that that they fall in front of the retina but behind the iris. In fact, the incisions are placed in the pars plana of the eye. The instruments that are usually for vitrectomy are enlisted below:

• Light pipe: This is a high-intensity flashlight used to see inside the eye.
• Infusion port: This is another instrument that aims at replacing the fluid inside the eye with a clean saline solution. The purpose is to maintain sufficient optimum eye pressure.
• Vitrector: The cutting device is the most important of all since this is responsible for the main job. It aims at removing the vitreous gel in a most controlled and gradual fashion. It also has to ensure that the delicate retina remains unharmed during the procedure by the removal of the vitreous by reducing the traction on the retina. So the surgeon inserts these small probes into the eye with the problem.

After this, with precision, the vitreous gel is cut with the vitrector and is suctioned out of the eye. The surgeon usually treats the retina with a laser. This is called photocoagulation. Fibrous or scar tissues are removed in this process from the retina. The places of retinal detachment are flattened. Tears or holes that may have resulted are repaired in the retina or the macula of the eye

The retina must be pressed against the wall of the eye. This is done by injecting silicone oil or a gas bubble in the eye. After the complete healing of the retinal detachment, the oil is used as the oil bubble must be removed since the body does not have the ability to absorb oil. Oil bubble works much better as compared to the air bubble. The oil bubble does not move around the eye, unlike gas bubble. It facilitates easy recovery in case of children and elderly people who have trouble keeping the head in one single position for long.

The affected eye is covered with a patch after the vitrectomy procedure. This can be removed before going to bed. For a speedy recovery, eye drops are prescribed after the vitrectomy surgery. It is not very uncommon to have the operated eye swollen for several days after the procedure with some amount of discomfort associated with it. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications, in addition to occasional eye press, will bring about the desired relief. If the throbbing pain is felt despite the use of OTC medications, then do not hesitate to ask help from your doctor.

As a part of your recovery, you may have to lie face down for quite a number of days if you have been treated for retinal detachment along with gas bubble. This ensures that the bubble is in a proper position. When excessive blood vessels and scar tissues have been removed, the gas bubble will assist in pushing the retina back into the original space.