Vitrectomy

Why have you been advised this ayjay and what are your other options?

My mother had this procedure and she did well. She was a type 1 diabetic

I had this operation in January to repair a macular hole. I was told the distortion in my eye would worsen and I could lose sight if I did not have the operation within a year. I had to ring after 7 months as there was no referral as expected but then was rushed through as an emergency within 3 weeks.

I opted to have only local anaesthetic and had to remain still throughout a 45 minute operation. I was terrified of moving but managed it, holding the hand of a lovely young nurse who said if I pressed her hand the surgeon would stop. I felt nothing but became really interested in what he was saying to a trainee as he was operating. That is just me though. A lady who went for the op after me chose to have a full anaesthetic.

Post op was not as bad as I thought though I had a black circle of no vision in the eye, which was an air bubble to press the retina against the wall of the eye. This took about 3 months to clear so I could not drive. Hooray for my bus pass! I had to use various eye drops but had no pain at all. Now 10 months on my vision is much improved with only minimal distortion.

I may need a further cataract operation as my existing cataract in that eye has thickened due to the trauma of the operation. I am told that this is a relatively minor and usually successful operation.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for this input. My op would be to repair epiretinal membrane. The option would be to leave it alone + put up with bad eyesight.
Has anyone had this procedure?
I am not good at being given medical choices. I honestly don't know what to do.

Ayjay I had a detached retina so had no real choice, it was an emergency operation to stop me losing my sight in that eye.
That involved having an air bubble inside my eye to hold the retina in place and I had the black circle like grandma.
The experience has made me so appreciative of my vision and I would do anything to avoid losing it.

If you are unsure, the questions I would ask the consultant are
1. If you don't have it done, will your eyesight deteriorate and if so, how rapidly.
2. If your condition deteriorated further, would that make surgery more difficult or impossible, ie, is there a point of no return.

Personally I wouldn't hesitate to take the advice of the consultant. I had a general anaesthetic for the surgery and the post op period, although tedious because I had to sit still for 10 days while things healed, was completely painless.
Good luck.

janeainsworth. Thanks for this comprehensive reply. Good advice. I feel a bit clearer now.
So pleased gransnet is here to ask questions/ get advice. Thank you again.