The Adventure Continues

August 24

And the adventure continues, I’m back on the train heading to the Philadelphia Airport flying to Milwaukee to hopefully find my van. It has been almost a month since I had to cut my trip mid adventure to have semi emergency eye surgery. 

An update on my eye condition, when I flew back to Philadelphia on July 27th I could not see pretty much anything out of my right eye. I had a detachment of my retina which made about 90% of my sight in that eye black. Long story short, surgery on July 29th by the amazing Dr Garg ( kind of funny that his name is what a one eyed pirate would say) and now I can see again. It is not fully 100% perfect but it is getting better all the time. 

A bit about my surgery, I had what is called a Vitrectomy Surgery.

As the name implies, it involves surgical removal of the vitreous gel which, in turn, relieves the traction or pulling on the retinal tear that is causing the detachment. Laser is then used to seal the retinal tears. Lastly, the eye is filled with gas. The gas goes away slowly on its own, in a few weeks. During this time you can not fly until the gas goes away. I guess your eye might pop. Hence way I’ve been hanging out at home for almost a month. 

Here is some information about retina detachment and some warning signs. I missed a couple a few months ago. Oops 😬 

A retinal detachment is a separation of the retina from the underlying layers of the eye wall.  The retina is the thin layer of tissue that retains the vision cells in the back of the eye—think of it as the film inside a camera. The image that one sees is focused by the lens and cornea in the front of the eye and then cast upon the center of the retina (macula) in the back of the eye.

Over time, retinal detachment will lead to progressive loss of peripheral and, eventually, central vision.  Left untreated, total and permanent loss of sight eventually occurs in most cases.

Retinal tears and associated detachments of the retina are often spontaneous and unpredictable events.  While detachment can arise following trauma, it is usually caused by separation of the vitreous gel from the retina.  Over time as we age, the vitreous gel liquefies. It eventually collapses upon itself and separates from the surface of the retina (posterior vitreous detachment).  During or shortly after this event, a retinal tear can occur as a result of the gel pulling on the thin retinal tissue.

Risk factors for developing retinal tears and detachment include myopia (near-sightedness), particularly thin patches within the peripheral retina (lattice degeneration), family history, previous eye surgery, and trauma.

Symptoms of vitreous detachment, retinal tear, and retinal detachment may coexist and include:

• Sudden onset of floaters (mobile blackspots or cobwebs in the vision)
• Sudden onset of flashing lights in vision
• Blurred vision
• Gradual loss of peripheral vision in the form of a shadow, curtain, or cloud (this corresponds to the retina detaching.)

Retinal detachments often cause some degree of permanent visual field or central visual acuity loss, even after successful reattachment. Final visual outcomes are best if the detachment is detected and treated before it involves the center of the retina (macula). A change of eyeglasses after retinal detachment surgery may or may not improve vision. Longstanding retinal detachments or those with associated scar tissue (proliferative vitreoretinopathy) typically have a poor visual prognosis.