Why do I have to posture face down?

RetinaRest

The gas in your eye forms a bubble and floats upwards towards the ceiling, like a bubble of gas in a drink. If you remain standing upright, the bubble does not press against the macular hole, which is at the back of the eye. Without this pressing effect, the hole is less likely to close; vitrectomy does not work without the gas.

The only way of getting the bubble to press against the macula is to look vertically down to the floor. This is most easily achieved if you tilt your head forwards with your face pointing downwards. This is known as face-down posturing. You will probably be asked to continue posturing for 50 minutes out of every hour of the day and night, for 7 to 10 days.

In essence, the procedure has two stages; the operation itself and the period of posturing. Both are considered to be equally important to the operation's success. However, this period of face-down posturing is a daunting proposition, particularly as it can cause back and neck pain as well as being dull and socially isolating. All of these problems are made easier with the use of the RetinaRest system. The mirror included allows you to look down but see ahead. With this, you can keep your eyes pointing down whilst maintaining eye contact with friends and relatives. This prevents the common mistake of having your face pointing down but looking forwards with your eyes, which defeats the object of posturing.