Vitrectomy for Retinal Detachment

Posted December 27, 2020

Retinal detachment requires urgent evaluation and surgery by a retina specialist. Retinal detachment may be repaired by a scleral buckle procedure or a vitrectomy procedure. Vitrectomy surgery may be performed under local anesthesia (most commonly) or general anesthesia. At the end of the surgery most patients are injected with a gas bubble to keep the retina in place. Rarely a silicone oil bubble is used. Our outcomes of retinal detachment surgery are published here. This video contains information about the vitrectomy surgery for retinal detachment repair.

Most patients who undergo vitrectomy procedure for retinal detachment repair are required to posture face down for at least 4 hours after the surgery. Please check with your doctor about positioning after retinal detachment repair surgery. If you cannot posture face down for any reason, discuss with your doctor before the surgery.

Follow up visits are usually on day-1, day-7 and then every 2 weeks until the gas bubble absorbs. In case a silicone oil bubble is inserted, the follow-up visits after 2 weeks are spaced out at around monthly intervals.

“You should NOT travel in a plane after vitrectomy without taking permission from your doctor first.”

Most patients with short acting gas (SF6) will not be allowed to travel in a plane for at least 3 weeks. In case a long-acting gas (C3F8) bubble is used, flying in a plane is prohibited for 9 weeks.

Rehman Siddiqui

Dr Rehman Siddiqui is an ophthalmologist based in Karachi, Pakistan. He is a Harvard Medical School and University of Aberdeen graduate. Trained in the United Kingdom, he specialises in complex retinal and cataract surgeries. He also performs LASIK laser procedures.