Is a preventive vitrectomy recommended ?

[thefunkyjoint]

I'm high myopic (-5.00) and had cataracts removed in 2016.

3 months ago i had vitreous dettachment on my left eye that caused a horseshow retinal tear and dettachment. So i needed to go on vitrectomy with gas bubble to fix it.

Long story short, now while i'm still recovering from the left eye, last week the same thing happened on my right eye : the vitreous started to dettach causing flashes and a retinal tear , but this time my surgeon could fix it with laser before the retina dettached.

Right now i have 20/20 vision on the right eye but still having flashes and a lot of floaters. Surgeon says its normal and we need to follow up carefully, but no surgery is needed at this point.

My question is : for me it looks like my right eye will end up with a retinal dettachment just like my left one, as the symptons are exactly the same. I know vitrectomy is a pain and recovery worst yet but in this situation would it be better to avoid the worst and go on the surgery right now ?

This wait and see approach it's a pain and lead to a lot of anxiety as i can't live my everyday life without the fear of a new tear and dettachment... the vitrectomy is hard but at least will fix the issue and give back my normal life.

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

You should take your surgeons advice. Once the vitreous detachment is complete and the vitreous face is no longer against the retia is cannot cause a tear.  Risks of vitrectomy are significant.

[thefunkyjoint]

Thanks but how long this process of detachment  can take ? Should I avoid physical activities until it ends ?

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

PVD can take several months. your eye physician will need to advise you about activity

[thefunkyjoint]

Ok, thank you for the info. Looks like my best bet is simply wait, even if my other eye ended up dettaching the retina...

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

Discuss your concerns with your retina ophthalmologist