After eye surgery I was told that I would have to lie face down for a number of weeks until the gas bubble in my eye shrank away. I recall, as I was preparing to leave the hospital, one of the medical staff helped into a chair where I was sat in an upright position; my doctor looked in on me and immediately told the staff member to have me sit with my head tilted forward.
The doctor explained to me that I needed to keep my head positioned downward when sitting in a chair and not to lie back because the gas bubble in my eye could cause the pressure in my eye to go up. Though I knew it was important to follow his instructions, I didn't know the severity of eye pressure rising due to the gas bubble. I found out that if a patient doesn't position properly (lie face down or on their side) the gas bubble would rise to the top of the eye elevating inner eye pressure which could destroy the nerves in the eye, resulting in irreversible vision loss.
The gas bubble needs to press against the tear in the eye to properly heal. When face down positioning (FDP) the bubble rises towards the back of the eye pressing against the retina. Some patients only need to lay in a face down position for a week while other patients have to do it for longer based on what's necessary for the individual patient. I was instructed to position for 12 hours a day for about two weeks. Also, I didn't have to stay face down the entire time of healing. I could also sit up slightly with my head tilted for a few minutes which was very uncomfortable and I could sit on a couch or arm chair with a pillow to lie on my right side (per doctors instructions).
FDP has been very uncomfortable but I found a lot of information online that helped a bit - Suggestions for Maintaing Face Down Positioning: VisionAware and Face Down Recovry oafter Retinal surgery: American Academy of Ophthalmology
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