Has anyone had silicone oil bubble repair to a detached retina?

[lincsKC]

I do suffer from KC too hence why asking in here, as I don't think there are any retina only sites out there!

As the subject says, has anyone else had this kind of repair done? Mine was 3 weeks ago and I am told it went well though I have only just stopped taking the dilating drops and it's day 3 of my pupil getting back to normal size so still not sure what outcome is.

I find some days I get what I thought were floaters but apparently are oil bubbles. I also can see the bubble in my vision, when looking straight ahead I can see a curve in the top third of my vision, and when looking down I see the complete circle.

I am told the oil MAY be taken out but a decision will be made later.

I just wondered if anyone else had had this and if the visual problems go away and what they found happened during their recovery?

[Anne Klepacz]

A friend of mine (not KC) had a retinal tear a few years ago and had a similar procedure with a bubble repair. I remember her describing symptoms very like the ones you're experiencing. Hers definitely did clear, but I can't now remember how long it took - it was definitely quite a few weeks. I'll post more when I've had a chance to talk to her, hopefully in the next few days.

[lincsKC]

Thanks, I kind of feel like I am looking through the oil! I was just unsure how that ever clears if they leave it in. I don't expect quick results but it would be interesting to hear how her recovery was.

[Anne Klepacz]

It turns out it was actually a macular hole that my friend had repaired, but the same bubble technique seems to have been used. It's a few years ago, so she doesn't remember exactly how long the bubble took to go, but thinks it was 2 or 3 months, with things gradually improving. She wrote a poem at the time about what it felt like.
After an operation to repair a macular hole

As I walk, the bubble jiggles
inside my eye.
Its surface slurps
from side to side
like the sea-line
outside a porthole
on a swaying ship.
If I look straight down
it resolves into a perfect,
trembling, circle.

It’s as if some witch
had cursed me to carry
a fishbowl with me
wherever I go.
It surprises me
that no-one else can see it.
The level goes down
day by day,
but it won’t spill.
Inside the murky water
big vague shapes
float and swim.
Look, there is one
striped like a ginger cat,
huge and fuzzy.

Of course the bubble
isn’t water, it’s gas,
and it’s not at the bottom of my eye,
but at the top –
my brain dutifully
reversing the image.

I walk round the park
every day, and see more
over the top of the bubble:
the irregular branches of the trees,
the Ashton Memorial,
badly constructed
of leaning, broken pillars.
I always meet my neighbour,
walking her dogs.
They stand still obediently,
while two enormous ghost dogs
dance around them.

Back home I’m glad
not to have fallen over,
and to set down
the heavy bowl
for a while.

[lincsKC]

Thanks for asking her, mine is a silicone oil bubble though, not a gas one which is a different method

[Anne Klepacz]

Ah, sorry. I didn't read things carefully enough. I guess the oil would disperse in a different way. All the best with it - do you have a check up soon?

[lincsKC]

In 4-6 weeks. They said they may or may not leave the oil in. From reading online it is usually taken out as it can cause cateracts. But seeing as my lens was knocked out 10 years ago that's not an issue!