When can I drive after a vitrectomy?

You cannot drive yourself home from the operation. Someone else needs to take you, since you have had anesthesia and the eye is patched.

After that, two things stand between you and the driver's seat. The first is vision. AAO explains the gas bubble sits in the eye until it dissolves, and while it is there, the operated eye sees very poorly. The second is positioning. AAO instructs patients to stay face-down or sideways when they stand, sit, eat, and walk, which is not compatible with driving.

Published patient guidance from AAO and ASRS does not give a fixed number of days before driving after vitrectomy, because it depends on the gas used, whether the other eye sees well, and what your surgeon finds at each visit. AAO advises limited activity for several weeks after retinal surgery and says your ophthalmologist will tell you when you can return to normal activities.

Practical rule: ask at every post-op visit. Bring it up specifically, because your surgeon is checking the retina, not thinking about your commute. And if your other eye is strong and legal, some surgeons clear driving earlier than patients expect.