What Is a Vitrectomy?

Written by Rachel Reiff Ellis
Medically Reviewed by Brian S. Boxer Wachler, MD on March 03, 2025
5 min read

It's a type of eye surgery where a doctor removes the vitreous, a jelly-like fluid inside your eye, and replaces it with a saline solution.

For you to see, light has to pass through your eye and reach your retina — the bundle of tissue at the back of your eye that senses light. It sends the information to your brain.

Various diseases can cause fluid in the vitreous to cloud, fill with blood or debris, harden, or scar. This can keep light from reaching your retina properly, causing vision trouble. Removing and replacing the fluid may solve or improve the problem.

Sometimes, the retina pulls away from the tissue around it. Your doctor could do a vitrectomy to make it easier to get to your retina and repair it.

It can also give your doctor access to your macula, which lies at the center of your retina and provides sharp central vision. A hole in it can result in blurry vision. With the vitreous fluid gone, it’s easier to fix.

Other problems that vitrectomy can treat include:

  • Damaged blood vessels in your retina
  • Infections inside your eye
  • Serious eye injuries
  • Wrinkles in your retina (macular pucker)

Your doctor may also suggest a vitrectomy to treat specific problems after cataract surgery.

Your ophthalmologist (an eye surgeon and specialist) can guide you on how to prepare. You can ask:

  • Do I need to stop taking certain medications beforehand?
  • Should I avoid food and drinks before surgery, and if so, how long before?
  • What are my anesthesia options?
  • How long will the surgery take?
  • How long will it take to recover?
  • Will I need to lay face down, and if so, for how long?

It’s likely the doctor will look again at your eye before surgery using special tools and a light. They may need to dilate your eyes. They might want to do an ultrasound to look more closely at your retina.

A vitrectomy can take anywhere from one to several hours, depending on what condition you’re treating. It may be just one in a series of procedures to repair a problem. You’ll have the option to stay awake and use numbing drops or shots in your eye. Or you might get general anesthesia — medicine that helps you go to sleep during surgery.

To do the procedure, your doctor will:

  • Make a cut in the outer layer of your eye
  • Cut through the white part of your eye, called the sclera
  • Remove the vitreous fluid with a microscopic cutting tool (while the eye is kept filled with a liquid that is like normal eye fluid or a gas bubble)
  • Remove any scar tissue or debris in your eye

Once the fluid is gone, your doctor will make any other repairs your eye needs. Then, your eyes will be filled with saline, a gas bubble, or silicone oil. If the doctor uses silicone oil, you'll need surgery later on to remove it and then fill it with saline. You might get stitches to close up the cuts in your eye, but most people don’t need them. Your doctor will put antibiotic ointment on your eye and cover it with a patch.

Plan to have someone take you home after your surgery.

The doctor will give you antibiotic drops to help prevent an infection in your eye. If your eye feels sore, you can take over-the-counter pain relievers. Your doctor will want to check your eye after the surgery. This follow-up might happen as soon as the day after the procedure, and you will be closely followed for the next two weeks.

Six weeks after vitrectomy

If your doctor used a gas bubble, it will still be in your eye for six to eight weeks after surgery. If you end up needing general anesthesia for any reason in this time frame, tell your doctor that you may still have a gas bubble in your eye.

For six to eight weeks after surgery, don't drive or fly in an airplane. For other activities, such as work or exercise, you should be able to continue as normal after surgery. However, you should be extra cautious during your healing period because your eyesight may be poor. It may be hard to see stairs or uneven walkways until your eyesight is back to normal.

Vitrectomy surgeries are typically successful. It’s rare to have a complication. Your outcome will depend on the condition of your eye and the work that needs to be done to repair it. Still, every surgery comes with risks and possible complications. After a vitrectomy, there is a chance you might get:

Call your doctor right away if:

  • Your vision starts to go away
  • You have severe pain, swelling, or redness around your eye
  • You have discharge from your eye
  • You see floaters or flashes of light

These can be signs of more serious problems that your doctor needs to check and treat.

What is the downside of vitrectomy?

As with anything, a vitrectomy carries some risks. You can ask your doctor about any of the possible risks.

Do you have to stay face down after a vitrectomy?

It depends on what type of surgery you have. If you had surgery with a gas bubble or silicone oil, you'll need to stay face down for the amount of time your doctor tells you.

What is the most common complication of vitrectomy?

The most common complications include infection, high pressure in your eye, cataracts, and failure to repair your retina.

What happens after a vitrectomy surgery?

Your eye may be sore after the surgery. It'll be padded with a plastic protective shield when you wake up from the operation. You can take this off the next day. Your doctor will talk to you before your surgery about what vision changes to expect right after the operation.

What are the advantages of a vitrectomy?

This surgery can help fix retinal detachment. Retinal detachment can cause your vision to become blurred and dim. Treating this quickly can lessen any damage done to your eye.

What are the types of vitrectomy?

There are two types of this surgery — posterior pars plana vitrectomy and anterior vitrectomy. Your doctor can explain why you may need either kind.

How common is vitrectomy surgery?

There are about 225,000 vitrectomies done every year in the U.S.