I've had small floaters for a few years - they didn't bother me much.
Enter cataracts - I had the type that are dots of blurs - had each eye done with cataract surgery in late spring. Seemed like I was recovering well. But doc noticed signs that the back of the pocket that holds the new lens was sticking to the lens. This can indeed happened and takes a small laser surgery to repair where the laser a little hold through that back material so that all the light goes to the retina.
Enter the problem arena. Suddenly I'm seeing more floaters. Floaters are flashing weird in one eye and I do an emerg trip to the eye doc in case of detaching retina. It wasn't, but he also said it still could. Then back on Monday the floater/flasher issue suddenly got way worse again on the OTHER side of the eye and I was also seeing dots kind of like pepper in the center of that eye's vision. Having already an appt scheduled at eye doc, I was back up in the morning with a NEW purpose for that appt. He suspected the vitreous was pulling off the back of the retina and thought he saw blood cells in there too (the pepper). Sent me right over to the retina specialist down the street. It was agreed that I had a very high chance of the retina tearing for the next 6 weeks. Choices included do some laser repair then and there or wait nervously for the next 6 weeks and hope the vitreous did not pull up more and finally actually rip the retina. While freaking out inside, I told him to do the repair work. I am told floaters and blood dots will be much less in time.
Yes, that first laser surgery was likely what cause the problem. It is simply one of the risks, I had other risks like the cataract surgery itself, my age, and the fact that my sister had already had a retina tear.
As we age the vitreous shrinks a bit and can pull away from the retina cause tears & detachment. If you ever see a bunch of new floaters and weird flashing in the eye, go get checked out immediately. If not fixed quickly, these can cause permanent problems in your eyesight.
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