Eye Sutures causing irriatation

[Mcq0823]

Good Morning,

In April I had a retinal detachment. I had the buckle and gas bubble combo. In late May I did have a relapse and had to have laser surgery to seal a small part of the detachment.

relatively things been going well. In December I went away to the mountains with my friends (higher) altitude and started to develop after this some eye redness. I went to get it checked out as I was seeing a different type of floater and the doctor said the retina was fine.

A day or two later I started having full blown symptoms of pink eye/conjuntivitis with also a puffy lower lid. I called my doctor after a few days and told me to let it run its course and call back in 5 days if it isnt gone. I did and went to see them and gave me some antibiotics.  Well after this it still is going away and went to my doctor again and said it could be an issue with my suture from my surgery in my lower area (thus explaining the puffy eye) as it looks alittle loose. I was still given anti-inflamatory drops as they said it should help with the inflamation

I have made an appointment with my retina specialist but she talked about given the sutures a "tug"....Now to my question

1. Does a loose suture threaten the buckle?
2. How serious could this be?
3.What would given it a "tug" necessarily do?

thanks for your help

[Asbridge]

I have had now 3 eye surgerys, 1 was for a macular hole, next came the retina detatchment with silcone oil, the 3rd was to have the oil removed.  I have a very large cataract in that eye now that they want to take out in the next 2 weeks as it is so bad they can't see through it to check the retina.  I have had eye pain and headaches on that side for the last two weeks.  The doctor says it is the stitches from the oil removal.  My question is will this go away soon.  
I can't wait to be able to see again, it's been 9 months now and I am so tired of not seeing from both eyes.

[susanne_a123]

Hi,

I had a surgery for my retinal detachement with buckle and air bubble at the beginning of november 2010. One month after the surgery my eye is still very red and swollen and I feel pain like I have some nails in my eye specially since 3-4 days ago. My doctor says it is because of stitches and gave me Chloromycetin oil which hasn't helped and I even can't open my eye because of pain. I have some questions and I will be very grateful for any help.
My questions are:

1) Will stitches always remain in my eye or will they be absorbed after a while? In this case how long?

2) If they are not absorbed after a certain time, should they be removed?

3) Should the stitces holding the buckle be treated differently than the stitches used to cover the holes done for passing the surgery instuments into the eye? I mean if the buckle stitches have to remain to keep the buckle on its place while the other stiches can be removed?

Thanks for your help

[Mcq0823]

Good Evening All,

To post a further update: So I have had cataract surgery and have had a significant improvement in my vision. I am almost 20/25 now! Pretty great results

One thing of note is I have had some redness develop over the past 2-3 weeks. My doctor keeps saying it isnt anything and it can develop, however with the buckle, cataract, ect I am ok that the redness is here sometimes and my doctor is saying nothing is wrong with the eye, but sometimes it can just be annoying in social situations to have eye redness

I try eye lubricant drops and do that lately.....but is there anything else I can do? Also as I am thinking today could I ask my doctor for some medication strength redness reliever as I know visine isnt good for the eye.

Thanks for your help

[caren123]

I have no idea if this is on-point, but decided to post in case it might help someone.   I have suture from ERM peel/vitrectomy done 10 days ago, (no buckle or bubble) and assume my suture is on surface of eye whereas yours may not be.  I had pains like pieces of glass were in the eye.  I was prescribed  ointment -  Erythromycin Ophthalmic Ointment by Bausch & Lomb and have applied it for the last 2 nights and It has helped quite a bit to alleviate the discomfort. I am guessing it is a temporary fix. Hope you find the answer you are seeking.
.

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

When this surgery is done three holes "ports" are placed in the eye for fluid entrance/exit and for instruments. Afterwards most are sutured shut (some very small vitrectomy instruments do not require suture).  Usually these stitches are permanent. Also if a sclera buckle is used it is stitched to the eye.

The stitches are usually covered with the outer layer of the eye (conjunctiva). The stick can erode through the conjunctiva and cause a lot of pain and irritation. Sometimes the exposed part can be trimmed or the conj pulled over the stitch.

If this does not take care of the problem the stich is often removed after the holes are healed.

JCH MD

[Mcq0823]

All,

Wanted to give a further update. They eventually shaved/clipped a stitch that was causing irritation on one side......Well take a few months later the stitch on my inner started to come about and caused irriation as well.

That got shaved/stitched/clipped whatever you call it. They did tell me that in young people the stitches tend to come about and can cause a problem in young people and that eventually I might need surgery to correct this

Can someone shed some further insight on this? My retina has and continued to stay stable

[Mcq0823]

I'm sorry Doctor. I only see a "-" as a response.

Do you have any thoughts?

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

-

[Mcq0823]

All,

Wanted to give a further update. They eventually shaved/clipped a stitch that was causing irriation on one side......Well take a few months later the stitch on my inner started to come about and caused irriation as well.

That got shaved/stitched/clipped whatever you call it. They did tell me that in young people the stitches tend to come about and can cause a problem in young people and that eventually I might need surgery to correct this

Can someone shed some further insight on this? My retina has and continued to stay stable.

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

We do not like to answer post surgery specific questions, they need to come from your surgeon
JC MD

[Mcq0823]

Good Evening,

So an update on this and hopefully some help from some people. I went to the eye doctor who said that the suture is attached to my buckle.

They also suspsect that my eyelid irriation is being caused by contacts but it could be caused by buckle/suture.  So what they recomended is for me to not wear contacts for a week. I also got prescribed lotomox in the eye

My question is:

1. After 4-5 days on Lotomax the eyelid irriation has gone done, but still present. Is this normal?

2. They said they could "shave down the stitch if needed". Was does this entail and is this more the cause of my irriation or would it be contacts.

any knowledge on this type of situation is greatly appreciated

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

1. Sometimes
2. Usually not
3. I have no idea what "tug" means suspect an effort to pull the suture out of the eye.

JCH MD