Blurry Vision Following Vitrectomy

Here are some causes of blurry vision following vitrectomy eye surgery.  These are temporary causes and should resolve in a short time.

There are other reasons that may blur your vision, but those reasons may be related to the particular eye disease for which we are operating.

An Eye Patch Causes Blurry Vision

After every vitrectomy, an eye patch is placed to keep the eyelids closed against the eye.  There really no medicinal use of a patch other than comfort.

The pressure required to keep the eyelid closed is also enough to temporarily change the shape of your cornea.  In a sense, we are artificially creating astigmatism.

Any alteration to the smoothness of the cornea or its shape can cause significant changes in your vision.

Blurriness from the patch usually resolves the same day.

Dilating Drops Cause Blurry Vision

Dilating drops are a very common cause of blurry vision.  The drops dilate the pupil allowing me to see inside your eye and perform the operation.

The same drops also paralyze the muscles used to help you focus.

We usually use dilating drops which are slightly stronger than those used routinely in the office, hence, the dilation lasts longer.

Blurry vision is caused for two reasons.  First, more light is allowed into the eye.  Most of the this extra light needs to be focused.

Second, your eye can not focus normally because the focusing muscles (ciliary muscles) are paralyzed.

Blurry vision from the drops can take a few days to reverse.

Scleral Stitches

Sometimes I elect to close the small entry wounds, called sclerotomies, with absorbable stitches (aka sutures).  The wounds are adjacent to the cornea, but close enough to cause some warping or bending of the cornea if pulled too tightly.

This should all reverse when the sutures fall out by themselves.

Most vitrectomies these days are sutureless, so this has become less of an issue.

Any questions or comments?  Please feel free to add them below!