Vitreoretinal surgery is often recommended for conditions such as epiretinal membrane, macular hole, vitreous floaters, dislocated lenses after cataract surgery, and more vision threatening conditions like severe diabetes or retinal detachment. Your physician will discuss which kind of surgery may be required for your specific condition and all the details involved during the consent process. Some, but not all of the information below will apply to your specific condition. Some surgeries are performed same day or within 48 hours, depending on the vision threatening nature of the condition. If you think you may have been referred for immediate surgery please do NOT eat or drink anything until your appointment with us is complete. This could delay surgical intervention if it is needed. All surgeries are performed in the ambulatory setting, meaning you come in and go home the same day. You will need someone to both bring you and take you home. If you DO NOT show up with a ride home, the hospital / surgery center will cancel your surgery. Most retina surgery is performed under monitored anesthesia care, which means no general anesthesia. Patients are placed in the a ‘dreamy’ state but are not 100% asleep. You breathe on your own. There is no tube down the throat – which reduces the risk of anesthesia and also significantly shortens recovery time. A local nerve block (like an epidural for the eye) is performed by your doctor to completely numb the eye ball during surgery. In rare situations, we do perform general anesthesia (tube), and this can be discussed with your doctor at your visit. You will have an eye patch over the operated eye for one night. It will be removed at your post operative appointment the next day. You will need eye drops for AFTER the patch is removed by your doctor will be prescribed. We often recommend getting your eye-drops before your post-operative appointment, but you can also pick them up the next day. Your doctor will give you an instruction sheet on the number of eye drops (usually 2-3 different types), their frequency (usually 4x per day), and duration (usually 1-4 weeks). Retina surgery is different than cataract surgery or LASIK surgery. While most of the time it is performed under similar anesthesia – it is often much longer, anywhere from 30min to 2 hours. All retina surgery is performed microscopically through very tiny ‘ports’ called trocars, which go into the white part of the eye (the sclera). Often, these are self-sealing wounds, but you also may require very tiny stitches on the eye which may feel like ‘sand’ or ‘an eyelash’ in your eye for a couple weeks. These dissolve on their own and do not need to be removed. In terms of pain - >99% of patients may be sore after surgery but do not have significant pain requiring more than over the counter Tylenol. On occasion your doctor may prescribe a strong NSAID like Toradol, or a low dose narcotic, but this is exceedingly rare, and at the discretion of your physician. Unlike cataract surgery you are NOT expected to see better immediately after surgery. Depending on the procedure required you may actually see worse than you did beforehand. Your doctor will describe what to expect, but in general, retina surgery requires weeks to months to recover your vision. This can be frustrating, but is a necessary part of the recovery process, in order to give your retina the opportunity to heal. For patients who require a ‘gas bubble’ to be placed in the eye – please note you CANNOT fly or enter high altitudes while the gas bubble exists. The gas can expand at high altitude and can cause a vision threatening increase in your eye pressure. Please let your doctor know if you plan to travel at any point after your surgery date. Most gas bubbles dissolve on their own over 4-10 weeks. For some conditions, you will be asked to ‘position’ yourself in a certain way, anywhere from 3 to 10 days after surgery. This is KEY to a successfully surgical outcome. This can range from strict face down positioning, reading position, laying on your left or right side, etc. The details will be described to you by your doctor after surgery and also written down in your post-surgical instructions. While we can often predict how you may need to position before surgery – this may change depending on what we see during your procedure. We ask our patients to do their best but understand that this is often the hardest part of the recovery process. You can take a break for 10-15 minutes per hour to stretch your neck, eat, go to the bathroom, etc. Please note – this positioning is also required at night and while sleeping. Your doctor will go into detail regarding limitations after surgery. In general, most patients take the first week off. We advise against swimming, hot tubs, saunas, working in or exposure to dirty or dusty environments, or tap water in the eye, during the first several weeks after eye surgery. We also ask patients to limit any excessive or jarring activity such as jumping jacks, running, or lifting weights >15 pounds repeatedly. You can shower after your surgery, but with water hitting the back of the head and using a wet washcloth for the face to avoid shower water getting into your eye. Use of the eyes, such as watching TV, computer work, or reading, will not affect the outcome of the surgery – though you may find that your eyes (even the non-surgical eye!) may feel sore, strained, or dry, after prolonged work. Please let us know if you require any documentation to be excused from certain activities or work during your recovery process.