PVD floaters following surgeries
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi All,
There doesn't seem to be an end to the distressing side effects of cataract surgery for me - LE now at 7 weeks, RE 3.
I mentioned in an earlier post I suffered from what my ophthalmologist suspected was a PVD in my LE on the day of surgery on my RE. This made itself known in quite a spectacular fashion with flashing arcs of light from every corner of my vision followed by the appearance of a Lava lamp type, very dense floater; a floater so dense I keep having to move my eye so as to see clearly. Needless to say my LE was examined following surgery to my right and I was assured my retina was fine.
About a week after surgery however, still experiencing peripheral flashes in my LE, I started experiencing a peripheral flash (noticeable at night) in my RE as well. This was followed by the worst case of dot like floaters across my central vision in BOTH eyes! The dots appear either to be tiny specks or cell shaped with an outline and small black dot in the centre - they aren't blurry but very clear and I would say between both eyes they are multitudinous. They are floating across my vision right now as I type this!
I've since had both eyes dilated and examined again and nothing ominous has been detected but I'm seriously depressed about this new batch of floaters as against a blue sky or pc monitor they are very noticeable indeed.
Whilst I've had floaters for decades its never been to this magnitude - in fact I had what I thought was the beginning and end of a PVD in my RE in 2020 and that caused a massive floater which eventually drifted out of view. So I am surprised my RE is still going through this - i.e. yet to complete. Certainly its been aggravated by the surgery as has my LE.
I really would like to know if anyone else has suffered from a proliferation of dot-like floaters and if eventually they dissipated? Its just added another layer of anxiety to two already tense and highly fatiguing months. Its worse enough I have developed PCO in my LE, which I think is developing in my right - so soon after surgery!
In addition to the floaters of course is my worry that the intensity of both PVDs will lead to a retinal tear.
0 likes, 8 replies
RonAKA elizabeth03298
Edited
I have now had a PVD event in both eyes after cataract surgery. On the first eye, it occurred about 10 months post surgery, and on the second eye, 13 months post surgery. For sure they are annoying, and I still see both of them, but the first is possibly a little less dense. It has been explained to me that the vitreous lining ages and as a result it pulls away from the back of the eye and drops down (hopefully!). I found one study that found the rate of incidence was not elevated for the first 6 month post surgery, but at 12 months the rate of PVD was 7.1 times higher than someone of comparable age that had not had cataract surgery. Google this for the article.
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Nature Eyes Progression of posterior vitreous detachment after cataract surgery
Shunsuke Hayashi, Motoaki Yoshida, Ken Hayashi & Kazuo Tsubota
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I have not seen a good explanation as to why this occurs after cataract surgery. My surgeon says it has nothing to do with the surgery (not my fault!), and is just due to age. I found one article that suggested that the bright light used during surgery may hasten the ageing process. Seems strange that statistically it has a time delay effect. In your case with your first eye, obviously not though.
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As for the other small floaters I have not experienced those. I still get flashes occasionally on the very periphery of both eyes, and I only notice them in dark rooms in the evening where there are lights elsewhere. This has been been blamed on my PVD, but I am suspicious that some of the flashes are coming from reflections off the edge of my IOLs. For me it is more of a curiosity than a vision issue.
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My eyes have been examined many times since the PVD events and there has been no concern expressed about a retina tear issue.
elizabeth03298 RonAKA
Posted
Hi Ron,
Thanks for your reply - you seem to be so very well researched in the subject.
I am sure I read somewhere that the IOL, being narrower than the natural lens, can give rise to a PVD, similarly being myopic is more likely to precipitate the onset. None of my older siblings (I am 60) have experienced this yet but maybe it happened uneventfully for them.
I think the issue here is that the more we research the less clear it seems are the timescales for these things to clear (I thought PVD was six months not years) and the more ambiguous statistically are the chances of, say, a retinal tear from a PVD. I've read this can be anywhere from 3 to 15 percent depending on the intensity of symptoms which is why the stress of this in both eyes is driving me nuts (need to meditate more...lol). To have that and PCO straight off the bat after surgery is somewhat depressing I admit.
I did read that a sudden peppering of specks can indicate a bleed and thus retinal tear, which is why I got straight to an eye exam and OCT scan the minute these dots appeared. I am due to return to have a proper eye test (for specs) late august and hopefully nothing will worsen before then. I'm wondering if the dots are blood cells will they dissolve? It's odd how they appeared in both eyes at the same time.
The PVD flashes and IOL flickering light are two distinctly unique things for me; the flashes happen in darkness with no obvious light source and the flickering tends to be when a light source enters my eye from the side and reflects off the IOL. I have this joy in both eyes now as well. Flashes and flickering. 😦
I don't want to moan too much as my distance vision is very good in my left eye (despite the PCO), still a bit blurry at all ranges in my right which is also quite bloodshot as well. Afterimages seem to be a bit of a problem with my right eye as well but I appreciate its only 3 weeks out from surgery.
The fact is eye surgery isn't a walk in the park. I just want these floaters & flashes to subside a little - I can live with the flickering as I don't notice it in my LE as much as I did weeks ago. I am still worried about car headlight starbursts as they are simply horrendous, but I'm hoping PCO treatment and prescription glasses will resolve that issue.
RonAKA elizabeth03298
Posted
It sounds like you may have "The Blue Field Entoptic Phenomenon". Although I can't say I have it, it is apparently not a cause for concern. See this article.
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American Academy of Ophthalmology What Are the Moving Dots I See When I Look at a Clear Blue Sky? By Reena Mukamal Reviewed By Michelle E Andreoli MD Edited By Vered Hazanchuk
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It has been about 2 years since my first PVD and it certainly has not gone away. It has faded some, but not dropped down out of sight as my optometrist said is likely would. Only 4 months since the second eye PVD, and no hint of it going away either.
elizabeth03298 RonAKA
Posted
Hi Ron,
I don't think it is that as this swarm of dark cell-like shapes and speck debris moves (like a peppering across my vision) with the main floater in my right eye and aren't a temporary phenomenon. It appeared to be worse today - was washing my car on what is a sunny day and, against the white of my bonnet, noticed literally hundreds of these specks, mostly I've noted in my right eye (a few in my left but not half as debilitating).
It's very hard to determine if, as the vitreous is pulling away from the retina and moving position in my eye, the floater has shifted enough to fall into my central line of vision, or if this is the precursor to a retinal tear if not a mild bleed. As such, I'm trying to decide whether I should wait until my next eye appointment in three weeks or get a referral from my doctor to see a retinal specialist this week. I admit I never expected this much worry and disappointment to follow cataract surgery.
Lynda111 elizabeth03298
Posted
I would see a retinal and vitreous specialist ASAP.
If you live in USA and aren't in some HMO, you shouldn't need a referral.
elizabeth03298 Lynda111
Posted
Thanks Lynda,
This whole process has been infuriatingly protracted. I booked another appointment with my local optometrist today (I am in the UK) and he called me before the appointment to run through my symptoms - bear in mind they've already given me two eye exams over the last four weeks with no sign of any retinal tears. He advised me to go straight to my local hospital A&E, adding that the sudden swarm of tiny dot floaters might be a sign of a retinal tear and that out of every two patients he exams presenting similar symptoms, one will have a tear.
So I took a taxi first thing this morning to my local A&E department and was seen by two nurses with a very perfunctory eye exam and numerous questions. Although I expected to be seen by a specialist then and there, instead I was informed I would be referred to a specialist over the next 48 hours.
I've just made a post on FB highlighting these events and one of my friends has literally been through the same thing and was diagnosed with a retinal tear. She is urging me to call Maidstone hospital to be seen this weekend rather than waiting until Monday. So my saga continues.
I almost wish I had kept my appointment with the optometrist now as he might have picked up a retinal tear which would fast tracked me to a hospital specialist without the waiting (one assumes!) so I feel a bit put out over all of this and am now entering what is my birthday weekend in a state of consternation and worry. 😦
Lynda111 elizabeth03298
Posted
I'm sorry for what you are going through. Especially the. waiting. Makes me glad to live in U.S A with good insurance. I've heard. some patients in the UK. pay for private health care. The sooner you can be seen by a specialist the better.
elizabeth03298
Posted
Just thought I would provide an update here with my ongoing eye saga. I finally got to see a specialist yesterday (an opticians which deals with hospital referrals) and he couldn't find any retinal tears in either eye even though my right eye is now flooded with a multitude of grain-like floaters.
What he did observe was inflammation in my right eye and as such has placed me back on a more intensive steroid eye drop regime for the next 7 weeks (I optimistically thought I had waved goodbye to that). I had noted my right eye looked very bloodshot following surgery and it wasn't looking any better weeks later. The vision in that eye is kind of hazy as well; it just hasn't felt right.
The optometrist asked me if the surgery on my right eye had been more complex than the left and I recalled it seemed to take much longer and felt more aggressive (if that is the right word). I also remember as I got up to leave the operating theatre I seemed to have some red stain (blood?) in my vision temporarily.
Has anyone else suffered from this type of inflammation weeks after surgery and how quickly did it clear up? What with ongoing PVD as well and these awful floaters I feel quite despondent overall.
I'm on a tapering regime right up into my holiday to Iceland as well and as a result won't be able to get my first post-surgery eye prescription sorted until I'm off the drops so have to make do with reading glasses.