How long for vision to be good after macular hoLe surgery?

[Monica19815]

I am 11 weeks post-op from macular hole, vitrectomy and IRM peeling surgery.  My scans look great...all is healed.  But my vision is still distorted and is not as clear as before the surgery.  How long will it take before my vision is good again?

[MrPresley]

@Monica19815 mine took 9-10 months post vitrectomy/ERM peel in my LE to settle back to normalcy. Mine was done about four years ago and there has been no recurrence of symptoms. Be on the lookout for cataract development, unfortunately the procedure virtually guarantees that one will form or develop more rapidly if already present. I had to have cataract removal surgery 18 months post vitrectomy, when the best corrected vision I could get had deteriorated to 20/70. Today my corrected vision in that eye (I wear RGP contacts) is 20/20 to 20/15.

[Monica19815]

Thank you for your response.  Thankfully I had cataract surgery on both eyes 5 years ago.  Guess that was a good thing!  I am truly hoping that these small blank areas resolve themselves.

[xltjim]

Similar to Mr. Presley I found that it takes time to recover from these surgeries.  I have had two retina detachments, one in each eye, exactly a year apart from one another - vitrectomy in both.  Each was followed by cataract surgery within 5 months of the Vitrectomy.    After all this time I still have some strange things happening  including  some flickering, some grey spots that come and go depending on lighting.  Have had full workup from GP and Retina docs and they fell that this could be residual from the laser or cryo that was used - they see no issues.  I am going on with my life now, this is my new baseline and will get back in urgently if things change.  I must say that I am very fortunate.  My vision in both eyes, corrected, is 20/15.  Very happy with that .   It was a long stressful process to get to this point.  Best of luck to you.  Jim

[JohnHaganMD]

Thank you both for your comments.

[JohnHaganMD]

These surgeries are all unique and it is not possible to generalize. It can take 6-12 months. In many cases vision does not return to normal and reduced vision and distorted vision are permanent.

[Monica19815]

Thank you for your response.  I so hope this is not permanent.  It is not badly distorted...the biggest thing that is bothersome is reading the news ticker at the bottom of news shows and trying to read the guide on cable TV.  Annoying!!

[JohnHaganMD]

Many posts about the recovery from this type of surgery.  You can find them using search feature. Mr Presley  is author of many useful posts on same.