The recovery time after retinal surgery can be long. Is it possible to keep your head down for weeks and weeks and sleep in this position?
After retinal surgery, your doctor may tell you that you can sleep on your side, but you should generally keep your head down and look towards the floor. Using a specialized pillow, you can learn to sleep on your stomach using a pillow designed for this purpose.
How long do you have to keep your head down after retinal detachment surgery?
Your doctor may have used a gas bubble to keep your retina in place, so it makes sense to keep the bubble in place. You will need to have your head and gaze facing towards the floor.
It is a pain in the neck, but for a successful outcome of retina surgery, you must be disciplined and complete this process for 7 to 10 days.
How long do you have to lay face down?
Finding a way how to sleep after detached retinal surgery will be determined by your surgeon. There may be only one option: to lay with your face downwards.
There are different techniques used for attaching your retina, and one is the use of a gas bubble that holds the retina in place during the healing process.
You can imagine the bubble can move to some extent as a bubble in a spirit level would move. You will need to keep the bubble on the retina for the best results, applying slight pressure.
The period you will need to lay flat on your stomach for is up to 14 days and then at the discretion of the eye surgeon.
During this crucial time of your healing process, you may need to improvise with household items such as towels.
You can wrap a towel into a horseshoe shape to rest your head while gazing downwards. This saves buying expensive pillows and gadgets for the short time you need to remain in this position.
How do you sit after retinal detachment surgery?
Carefully, you need to sit with your arms folded with your forehead on your arms with your gaze to the ground. If you have a secure chair, you could use this position for sleeping, but more likely taking a nap in the day.
How to sleep after eye surgery
It depends on the eye surgery you have had. Finding a way how to sleep after retina surgery will be dictated by your eye surgeon and cannot be deviated from.
After retina surgery, it is advisable to purchase a detachment pillow found online. The pillow has a hole to allow you to breathe while lying on your stomach to sleep, and the pillow has a slight angle backward.
The pillow extends under the torso to prevent the user from suffocating or falling on their face.
However, not all eye surgery is retina repair, and in this case, you may ponder how to sleep after eye surgery.
General eye surgery, though still serious, is not as strict in specifying the sleeping position. You may lay on either side of your face or back.
One of the primary considerations of how to sleep after eye surgery is to reduce the possibility of infection, so back sleeping is permitted with your surgeon’s consent.
When can you sleep on your back after macular hole surgery?
Before jumping to sleep on your back, you will need to find how to sleep after macular hole surgery.
For the first week, you are going to gaze at the floor, and this is to keep the buoyancy of the bubble the surgeon has placed covering the macula hole.
For at least the next five days, you will eat, look down, and sit looking down. When you sleep, you will be facing down.
The first 5 days are critical for your recovery and healing process; your surgeon will specify the number of days he considers is best for you based on his experience.
But, in general, after 1 week you will be given the ok to sleep in any position that suits you.
Can I walk around after macular hole surgery?
Yes. However, the walks are for no more than ten minutes, and your head must be at a 45-degree angle to the ground to allow the bubble over the macular hole to stay within its parameters.
How long does it take for the macular hole to close after vitrectomy?
It takes about 8 weeks for the hole to heal, and during this period, your vision will be impaired. The bubble disappears independently, and sight should be restored within 8 weeks.
Vitrectomy can be done as an outpatient treatment and can be performed using a local anesthetic or a general anesthetic, depending on the patient’s wishes.
How to sleep after vitrectomy surgery
It’s always a concern of patients of how they will sleep after vitrectomy surgery, but the truth is it’s pretty easy.
You will be allowed to sleep on either side of your face and even lie flat on your stomach. It is prohibited to lay on your back unless given the all-clear by your doctor.
Because we are not all the same, the average time for recovery is around 8 weeks, but being able to sleep on your back could resume after 8 days.
What can you not do after a vitrectomy?
You will not be allowed to exercise, and driving will be prohibited. Reading may be off-limits until the recovery is complete. But in general, after a few days, there are not many restrictions.
You may be required to lay down flat with your gaze towards the floor for a few days. This establishes the healing process and keeps the tiny bubble covering the macula hole buoyant.
Often along with your recovery period, you will be using eye drops to reduce inflammation and the possibility of infection.
