Blurred vision after trabeculectomy

[RobMitchell]

Hi,

I am 52 and have glaucoma and cataracts in both eyes. 8 week ago I had a trabeculectomy, which went ok and although pressures went very low post op they are now at 9, which is great. However my vision in the operated eye (which was actually pretty good apart from increasing peripheral loss) is very blurred and is only perhaps fractionally better than immediately after the surgery. Most of the literature seems to suggest that the vision is at its optimum again after 6 weeks post op, which is a bit concerning. I wondered if anyone else had taken a longer period of time for the blurred vision to clear?

Thanks

Rob

[Iona57]

Hi Rob, I'm three weeks post trab and already very fed up with the blurred vision which is in my 'good' eye. I've done a lot of goggling. A wide range of timescales is given. My own post- op leaflet says ' about two weeks' but other info says up to 3 months or longer. In my case I think the blurring is partly to do with the eye drops- I'm still on steroid and dilating drops. The other is that my focus is fluctuating. I started off being long sighted after the op. I am now short sighted and can read without glasses but long distanfe vision is blurred. I'm wearing an old pair of glasses which helps. I've read that you should wait 3 months before getting new glasses as the eye can still be settling.

[RobMitchell in reply to Iona57]

Thanks Iona. Best of luck with your recovery. I do feel so much better since they took the stitches out a couple of weeks ago and I think I’ll have to be patience as things right themselves. Thanks again. I really appreciate your reply.

[Eahldt]

My vision took about 3 months to settle down after a trabeculectomy and still isn’t as good as it was previously. I accept, however, that the operation was a precautionary measure to save sight in that eye as vision in my other eye is poor. Soon aft er the trabeculectomy I developed a cataract, a common side effect of eye surgery, so it may be worth getting that checked out.

[RobMitchell in reply to Eahldt]

Thanks Eahldt. 3 months? OK. I’ve still some time to go then. I suspect I need some more patience. They told me that I need a trab for both eyes and that I had also had cataracts in both eyes that will need sorting. Perhaps the first trab has just exacerbated the cataract. Thanks again for your reply, it’s reassuring.

[Eahldt in reply to RobMitchell]

My experience certainly tried my patience. There was about three weeks when, after developing the cataract and before having it removed, I could hardly see at all as my vision in my other eye is so poor. Things went uphill after about three months and after six months my optician felt my eyesight had stabilised sufficiently to issue a prescription. It can be a long road, not necessarily the same for everyone, but I’m sure you will see things improving - literally!

[AlfredV]

It was months for me. I did some research and found that visual improvements can be experienced up to two years later. I also found that the drops regime would negatively affect my vision. I think it is likely that you will see significant improvements further down the way.

[RobMitchell in reply to AlfredV]

Excellent. Thank you AlfredV. I think I’m probably a bit unduly anxious and need a bit more patience. Fingers crossed and thanks for telling me about your experience.

[Granny79]

I had a Trab in my right eye in October and was told by the Consultant to wait until 6 months post op before getting regular eye check up.

[Moultrey]

Hello Rob,

I had mine done in one eye 4 months ago and have had a helluva time, vision is completely blurred and not improving at all. Was 20/25 post surgery now 20/65.

I hope somebody reading this can offer some support as I am afraid it will never come back to normal.