Positioning after eye surgery

hi

i had what is called a non posturing vitrectomy so only had to be face down for 24 hours. other types and hospitals have different advice. even only having to lie face down for a day is awkward so may i advise you to phone the ophthalmology department of the hospital you are going to and ask if they have a leaflet they can give you before hand so you can make any arrangements necessary. depending on what they use, either gas or oil bubble depends on how long it takes to see clearly. it does seem like a scary op but it is not. you should neither see or feel anything as they do the op.

hope everything goes ok for you. best wishes.

Hi pinksox - the post-op instructions will depend on your individual case. When I had a vitrectomy I was instructed to do facedown every 30 minutes on the hour all day long for two weeks. I was able to sleep on my side only (not on my back). Could not travel by plane and was not allowed to lift anything over 5lbs. Doing this allowed the gas bubble that was inserted into my eye to "float" and stay in place against the retina as it healed (like a bandaid). The facedown process was exhausting, but I would have done anything to make sure the surgery was 100% successful. During facedown I used an ipad to surf the net, also had some good reading material on hand. You can search youtube and listen to other patients who have gone through the same thing - one lady had to do facedown 24/7 for EIGHT weeks, which used to be the standard post-op procedure back in the day (aaack!).I found listening to other stories while doing facedown comforting. I used Alexa to time my 30 minutes (it's nice having someone to talk to like that even though she's not real haha). I also used towels to put under my arm because for whatever reason facedown really aggravated the muscles around my shoulders and a towel under my arm helped. I promise you that the three weeks will go by quickly and you just need to stay focused on the fact that your sight will be saved. It's been only the last 50 years since they've done this type of surgery - we would have probably lost our vision without all the medical advancements. Keep us posted!!

Thank you both for your replies. They are reassuring. I've now got my fingers crossed that I don't need to be face down for long. I have never been able to sleep face down or on my back so, hopefully I will be able to sleep on my side. The nurse told me they didn't have any leaflets left. I've got an ipad at the ready. Good idea using Alexa for timing and chatting. Ha ha. I've got a big v-shaped pillow for putting under my chest with my forehead on a sponge pillow (which is shaped to use between the knees when you have hip problems). I've been buying a few tinned and pouch food products that I can heat in the microwave and got a few meal in the freezer for heating and just thought of using my slow cooker. I'm sure the nurse said something about 15 minutes in every hour so I've been planning what I'll get done in each 15 minutes. Thanks again for your help.

Hi i had a victrectomy and lense replacement at christmas. I was also very worried about posturing. My specialist advised me that i needed to lie on one side for 50 minutes with a ten minute toilet , food break then swap to the other side for the next 50 minutes. During the night i could only sleep on my side. I bought a v pillow to support me. I asked why not posturing on my front and he said he didn't feel it necessary in my case. I had a gas bubble and it went away after about 13 weeks.

I was very scared about the whole thing but i survived it and now have good sight.

I suggest that you have plenty to watch on the tv or occupy yourself. I wasn't allowed to lift or do anything strenuous for a while. I couldn't fly until the gas bubble disappeared. Best wishes

Thank you Aliyiann. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't need to be face down. I've got plenty recorded from tv and am thinking I might have to just listen. You only got 10 minute breaks? I live on my own so am stocking up on things I can microwave in a few minutes so I have time to eat it. Keep meaning to try eating while face down just in case. lol I know I'll get through it, just not looking forward to it at all.