Retinal Hole/tear

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AA3JY

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I'll be asking my retinal eye specialist..but I'll ask here before my surgery.. Will I be advised to pospone any diving for the foreseeable future as a result of laser repair surgery..as I have diving plans for next month.
 
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Check out the DAN website for additional info. I waited 3 months after cataract surgery -- my local doc had no idea.
 
I honestly don't know how long patients are advised to avoid significant activity after laser retinal repair. But there are no considerations specific to diving that should change whatever that recommendation is.
 
Your eyes could potentially be exposed to pressure changes in your mask. Your surgeon may already be aware of that but it would be beneficial for you to discuss it with him/her.

Best regards,
DDM
 
Didn't Kevrumbo have some sort of eye surgery? I think he had hydrops retinalis surgery and had to stay out of the water for quite awhile. However, I'm not exactly sure if that is corneal or retinal surgery, despite its name.
 
AA3JY: Yes you will most likely be out of diving for at least a couple of months.

In August 2012 I suffered a giant retinal detachment with macula off in OD due to facial trauma. The issue here is whether oil or a gas bubble is used to reinflate the eye while the retina heals and whether secondary complications such as traumatic cataract or infection develop from the vitrectomy. The pt will also have to undergo positioning and limited activity for the first few weeks. If a gas bubble is used there will be flying and diving restrictions until it dissipates as well as the wearing a plastic med alert bracelet for the gas bubble. There is a possibility for more than one procedure if the surgeon wants to use oil than gas bubble. I have no idea as to what restrictions may apply if a scleral buckle is used.

In my case I had three vitrectomies (oil, gas bubble, oil) and a catract removal between the second and third surgery. I was allowed to return to diving six weeks after my third surgery.
 
I think there is quite a difference between the procedure you had, Jeff (which is extensive) and a simple laser tacking of a detachment. In your case, putting gas into the eye means there are SIGNIFICANT implications of pressure changes, whereas in the normal eye, which is fluid-filled, pressure equalizes automatically through the orb and there are no differentials across the sclera.

With regards to the mask squeeze, I think it's unlikely someone would tolerate enough mask squeeze to deform the orb itself. But again, the surgeon who is doing the procedure should be aware of the mild pressure differential that can occur across a mask, and his advice is what you should heed.
 
Just back from (indirect) Laser surgery to repair Retinal hole. Retina Doctor(affiliated with Wills Eye in Philadelphia) says no problem diving next month.. The whole procecedure, done in office, was about an hour..took longer for the numbing eye drops to work then the 10 min laser procedure..
 
The OP should not have any contraindication for diving if laser treatment was the only procedure performed.

If there was a pneumatic treatment, where a gas bubble was injected, then diving would be precluded until the gas was absorbed. I don't think the OP would not want to go diving after undergoing such a treatment.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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