What is the vitrectomy?
Vitrectomy surgery is a surgical procedure that removes the vitreous humor/gel. It is performed for a variety of reasons/conditions. The essence for removing the gel is to eliminate the traction of the gel from the retina which is the causative factor for many abnormalities such as retinal tear/detachment. It is also performed to remove abnormalities present in the vitreous gel which have led to vision loss (e.g. vitreous hemorrhage, retained lens fragment).
What to expect?
Vitrectomy surgery is almost always done in an outpatient setting (surgery center or hospital), meaning the patient goes home 1-3 hours after surgery. Since it is a surgical procedure, patients need to get medically cleared by their primary care doctor or an urgent care (if urgent). Surgery is generally performed under local anesthesia (i.e. patient is awake but the eye is anesthetized via local retrobulbar lidocaine/marcaine). This allows for the fastest and safest surgery with essentially no risk systematically. The retina specialist performs very small incisions in the sclera that do not require placement of stitches afterwards (i.e. small incision sutureless surgery). Depending on the type of condition, the surgery can last anywhere between 10-60 minutes. Once the surgery is completed, the patient’s eye will be patched until their post op visit which is usually within 48 hours following surgery. At the first postoperative visit, the patch is removed and instructions including use of eye drops is given. Following surgery, often special positioning (e.g. face down) is required in order for the retinal condition to be managed. There are special chairs/beds that can be rented to help the positioning which is max 7 days following surgery. Vision following surgery will be hindered from a day to 6 weeks depending on the vitreous substitute utilized. There is typically very minor discomfort following surgery lasting 24-48 hours. It is extremely rare to have severe pain following surgery; if that happens or there is any vision loss, patients are to contact the doctor immediately.