Blackouts while positioning after vitrectomy

[sunnndog]

Hi, I am currently doing positioning for a retinal detachment after vitrectomy with C3F8 gas.  I currently have a message chair that I use to position head down.  After positioning head down for about 1 hour, I notice that me eye "blacks out".  The vision takes about 1 minute to return.  I'm just trying to figure out what's causing this?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

That is NOT NORMAL for post operative head down RD surgery. It could represent a problem in the eye or in the blood flow to the eye. You should report this IMMEDIATELY to your retina surgeon AND YOUR PERSONAL PHYSICIAN.

[sunnndog]

I reported this to an on call opthalmologist and he suggested it was just the gas moving around when I changed head position.  I asked if it could be IOP related, but he didn't think so because I am not experiencing excrutiating pain, just mild paind that goers away after a few mins

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

If you and your physician have had that discussion and you both are comfortable fine. When you said "BLACKS OUT" to an ophthalmologist that means all the vision goes black and you can't see anything. That is not typical of your situation, thus the sense of urgency. If you mean it was simply blurry but you still had vision and you have a gas bubble that is a totally different situation.