Wavy or deformed lines or objects after Retinal detachment surgery

That's what I blame my bad golfing on, too LOL

So sorry to hear ur story.i had my retinal detachment 6month before.i am 36.i have a two little kids.lot of flotters in eyes.very difficult to do work's.

I was in a restaurant on a bright sunny day about 6 months ago and rubbing my right eye. Looking around to the back of the restaurant I noticed a little bit of distortion in my far right peripheral in my left eye. Never noticed it before and not noticeable when using both eyes. I went to the Eye Center a few days later and retinal doctor found a shallow detachment. Repaired it and put gas bubble in, had to lay on my left side for 3 weeks. Took 2 months for gas bubble to leave and had developed a very thick cataract so vision very blurry. Had cataract replace with distance lens. Now 6 months later I have wavy lines in that eye and everything is smaller than my right eye. The vision is 20 30 they say so I am thankful that it is as good as it is. I can drive and see good but bothers my eyes some reading because of the difference in size of images.

I had retinal eye surgery over one month ago and have wavy lines and distortion also.
I also have some double vision which gives me headaches.
When I ask the doctor who performed the surgery he just says it takes time and you may never gain your eyesight back 100 percent .

I had a DR just over 7-weeks ago (3-days after my 52nd birthday) and was essentially blind in my right eye. I had only a very small/blurry crescent shape of light in the top-right corner of my eye... all else grey-black (I could compare it to a near-complete solar eclipse). It was a holiday, so I could not see the doctor same-day, but was in the following day and he fortunately squeezed me in for surgery the next day (2-days after the detachment). It was a laser surgery, not the scleral buckle, and the vitreous solution was replaced with the gas bubble which went away after a couple of weeks. During the recovery I was quite religious about remaining "face down" to ensure the gas bubble was holding the retina in place. Like most, my doctor indicates that the recovery is going well: he examined the retina soon after surgery and after 1 & 2 & 6 weeks to make sure it remains intact. And like most, I am seeing objects smaller (apearing more distant) in my right eye and seeing the distortion which can make straight lines appear wavy. He has been careful not to make any promises about to what extent the distortion will ease, but has indicated that months, or even a year later, I may see improvement to the waviness and distortion. He described the scenario of the nerves/receptors as a million toy soldiers who were standing up, then were suddenly knocked over when the DR occurred. Surgically... the retina is back in place (with no bubbles, etc)... so the toy soldiers are largely standing up again, but not in the same position as before. He makes it sound like there is a bit of physical leveling that takes place over time, and that the brain needs to learn how to process the new "input signals" from the new series of light receptors-to-optic nerves. Sorry if this assessment is not technically sound, as I am not an ophthalmologist or retinal specialist, but it surely makes sense to me. Perhaps more importantly, it gives me cause to be hopeful and keep the faith. I found this thread when looking to assess if my recovery is proceeding normally. For people who have recently had the surgery... I might suggest you print out an "Amsler Grid" (just Google it) and look at it weekly to assess if you are seeing change week over week. Having started looking at the grid soon after the surgery, I can see noticeable improvement today... but huge room for improvement remains. I had hoped to find eye exercises which could help promote recovery... but have not found anything, and my doctor even indicated that whether you wear an eye patch (to rest the eye) or try to exercise your eye (by reading, etc) that the recovery will happen at its own rate. This frustrated me a bit, and I fear my recovery will fall far short of my original hopes. One comment that I expected to find but have not: this surgery has made me EXTREMELY TIRED... to the extent of falling asleep sitting up at my desk some 7-weeks after surgery. I have attributed this to my brain having to work very hard to assimilate the two very different incoming signals from each eye. If you have been experiencing great fatigue, please share so I know I'm not going loco.

Like others have stated, I do thank God to have decent functionality restored. My doctor tells me that my lens is showing initial signs of cloudiness, so within the next few months the cataract surgery will be required. I have been looking forward to lens replacement surgery to correct my horrid distance vision (prior to the DR, I was already -8 diopters... or about 20/700). After reading this post, I will approach the lens replacement surgery with more guarded expectations, but still with optimism and faith. Having been essentially blind in my right eye for two days... I feel blessed to be where I am today. I pray for each of you to recover bodily and to be granted peace of mind.

Not always! I am on 1 1/2 years. My eye is healed and still have waviness and blurred vision.

Hello All,
I had cataract done on both eyes. A year later I had RD on my right eye a few month later I had RD on my left eye. My vision was 100% restored in both eyes after RD surgery. However on my right eye I see that when I try to read letters they appear to be crocked with my left eye closed. My left eye can see the letters perfectly fine. It has been 3 years now since surgery and I can guarantee that my right eye is screwed for life. The doctors dont tell you that they screwed up at the time of the surgery, if they stretch the retina carefully and laser it to the edges without any wrinkles, you get a clear undistorted picture. My doctor was listening to rock music and discussing his weekend plans as he was lasering his way through my retina

It's been over a year since my Rd surgery with macula off. My vision in that eye is still blurry with wavy lines, distortion, and objects appearing smaller than my other eye sees. Intense headaches have also become the norm when I read (I was never prone to headaches before surgery). My Dr. has stated that everyone has different results. Meaning I'm screwed. I hope you have better luck.

I had detached retina two years ago and was rushed to have emergency surgery. The surgeon said my vision would come back in that eye gradually over the 12-18 month range. 2 years later and my vision is even worse than when I had the surgery. After seeing another surgeon, I was told that the surgery was done too late, even a day earlier and I would have been able to heal from it, it’s so disappointing and reading is especially tough after even a short time. My new surgeon says now I need to be very careful to watch my good eye so we can catch it quickly. My advice is to always ALWAYS go see your eye dr even if it doesn’t seem like big deal. And have fam or friend help you find the best dr available. I naively just went to the only person my contact specialist knew and really paid the price now.

This is so similar to what happened to me and it gives me so much anxiety and frustration with someone who tells you “99% will be all fine” I have permanent distorted vision as in with Bad eye only open I can not even read the big letter E they put on screen...20/200.

Would you be willing to email about your experience sir? I am dealing with very similar situation and could really use someone who also has gone through this to ask some questions. If you would just respond here an Give you my email. Thank you ahead of time. God Bless.

I hope you heel soon as well. Are you a dog by the way? :-)

Thank you
You put my worries at ease

I had surgery on 13 April, they put in a buckle and a gas bubble during a two hour surgery. My two month visit was positive. I took some kind of eye test (different than usual), and there is a possibility of regaining almost all of my vision (I was reading at the 20/30 level during the test and actually surprised him). yea! I stated that my floaters (have had them my entire life) were being quiet, and he said that is because he removed them. (yea again, as they are a PIA) Just recently my vision started becoming wavy and anything round is indented weirdly , but after conducting research and picking my surgeons brain, this is normal. (whew) He stated if I can get past the four months, the percentage of detaching again goes from 10% to 5%. I can only remain positive, which I am because it is what it is and except for thinking positively and doing some praying it is out of our hands.

Follow-Up: I am the same person (posting was as "GUEST" 6 months ago) who had a detached retina in January 2018 (just after 52nd birthday). Have always been extremely myopic (peak of -8.5 diopters near sighted)... and family history of D.R., so detached retina was not a huge shock. Going blind in one eye (for 2-days, before I could get in for surgery) was alarming to say the least. Similarly the lack of great improvement as the gas bubble went away, and over the next couple of months left me somewhat deflated.

That said, I have been very pleased, even astounded, by the improvement after Lens Replacement surgery. After the retina reattachment surgery (and gas bubble disappeared)... my vision was nowhere close to what I'd had previously. Even in the eye doctors chair the week before lens surgery, the best corrected vision they could deliver was 20:50. Imagine my surprise when the day after cataract surgery, I was testing 20:20 on the eye chart as soon as the patch came off. For the first time since I was a kid, I can see the alarm clock (and way beyond) when I wake up in the morning. The "repaired" eye is so amazing that I have nearly left the house several times without remembering to put my contact lens in the non-repaired eye.

I am so pleased with this result that I am going to have my other eye fixed (it has about 1/3 detachment, but has been stable thanks to scar tissue which formed and prevented a complete detachment of the retina). Will do retinal surgery, gas bubble, and (eventually) the lens replacement surgery. Keeping you all in my prayers... may you find recovery and peace.