Pneumatic Retinopexy Recovery

It takes about 3 weeks to recover from this surgery. The hardest part of the recovery is keeping the gas bubble in the right place.

  • You must keep your head in a certain position for most of the day and night for about 1 to 3 weeks after the surgery.

  • You cannot lie on your back. If you do, the bubble will move to the front of the eye and press against the lensinstead of the retina.

  • You must avoid air travel until your eye has healed. A change in altitude could cause the gas bubble to expand. This would increase the pressure inside the eye.

laser photocoagulation

Laser photocoagulation for the retina was first used in the 1940s and since then became a major advancement in the treatment of retinal pathology. Laser application for treatment of retinal problems is vast and it is difficult to imagine a contemporary retinal practice without laser delivering devices.

Retinal laser essentially delivers heat energy to treat the retina. This energy can create adhesion between the retina and eye wall (to treat retinal tears, holes, and retinal detachment), ablate diseased tissue causing abnormal blood vessel growth (panretinal photocoagulation), or seal areas of leakage which cause retinal swelling (focal and grid laser).

Laser is delivered using specialized lenses held by the physician. Some lenses may rest against the patient's eye, while others may be held just in front of the patient's eye.

Laser treatment is generally well tolerated in the office, but may be performed in the hospital when treating children and some adults. Laser usually has no appreciable side effects, but can cause transient pain and may cause temporary blurred vision for 15 to 20 minutes after the procedure. Rarely, laser can cause difficulty reading, poor pupil function, decreased peripheral vision, and occasionally spots in the central vision.

cryotherapy

Cryotherapy consists of the transmission of freezing temperatures to the retina, by applying a very cold probe to the outside of the eye (the sclera).

Like a laser, the intense cold applied to the retina can seal abnormal retinal tears and leaking retinal blood vessels. Cryotherapy may be used to treat retinal tears, small retinal detachments, tumors, vascular lesions, and different retinopathies. It may also be combined with pneumatic retinopexy for treatment of certain types of retinal detachments. This treatment is also helpful when there is a vitreous hemorrhage or when a cataract obscures light reception.

Pneumatic Retinopexy

For certain locations of retinal detachment, our ophthalmologists may perform a pneumatic retinopexy. During this procedure, your doctor places numbing drops in your eye, then inserts a small needle and removes a small amount of fluid to soften the eye. 

Your doctor then injects a small amount of intraocular gas into the vitreous. The gas lasts for several days and gently pushes the retina against the back of the eye. The goal is to reattach the retina. Your doctor then performs laser photocoagulation or cryotherapy to seal the retinal tear. This procedure takes about one hour.

What you might see (or something like this) when looking through your eye shortly after procedure. (Gradients and lighting effects around edges not illustrated.)

Macula

The macula is a small but important area in the center of the retina. You need the macula to clearly see details of objects in front of you, like faces and written text.

A number of eye problems can affect the macula and can lead to vision loss if they are not treated. Macula-related problems include: