contemplating eye surgery; Vitrectomy

[amazingflapjack]

Hi all-Wife is considering a Vitrectomy on her left eye, where they flush out old blood from bleeding blood vessels, to alleviate cloudiness in the vision. She has had several laser procedures to seal blood vessels as a result of bleeding. Your experience and insights would be appreciated, along with your prayers. Thanks, Flapjack.

 

[butchd]

Had one in my right eye in '06 which was successful and has allowed me to continue to shoot. It was not a pleasant experience but was worth the healing pain that followed. No telling the improvements they have made in the procedure since then. Drop me a PM should you want to talk details.

 

[Camster]

My mother has had one.Perhaps it's done for a variety of reasons,but my limited understanding is different than yours.She also had laser,and the operation was done to flatten the retina,deal with scarring.It helped a lot,but be aware that after the eye is disturbed that much with laser and major surgery,it is the norm to have a cataract develop.
Recovery takes a while,and you'll have to help with eye drops.

 

[KaTz]

I just had this procudure done wed oct 17th , I had cataracts back in 2007 in both eyes they were removed , I was never given the choice to choose what I wanted for repacement lens's, was only asked what i wanted to be able to do , well long story short the doctor put in mono vision lens's - those nearly killed me because my vision for 43 years was always 20/15 in both eyes with never a problem , my brain was not happy with what was put in and since that day back in july of 2007 I have lived in Hell for 4 years until I could no long stand it ..Then having had enough I sought out many eye doctors and found out I could get piggy back lens's to get rid of the mono vision lens , I had the first lens put in over the mono lens 1 year ago and since that day i can see with perfect vision with zero contacts ..now with that kind of result I then went back to that doctor and told him i needed a fix for the right eye - well i did get a new piggy back lens in aug 6th 2012 just 2 months ago , well between that day and monday oct 15th somehow i ended up with a partial detatched retina which was creating a black shadow at the top of my eye , I went in to see if a contact would help and thats when i was rushed to a speciality doctor who told me what was going on with the right eye and set me up immediatly with a Vitrectomy surgery - had i not gone in to a eye doct to see why i was not seeing crisp i could have gone blind ..a couple things were done one being a band put in , another was stitches to to repair the detatchment , he then took out all the floaties and debry in the eye , he then placed a gas bubble in the eye which will take about a month to decipite before i will see clear again before we can see how my sight is , as for the surgery itself i had a local , i was put out for 3 minutes as they put in the needle the brought back out and was awake which i was able to see and hear all that was going on , i felt nothing no pain at all durning the surgery , it took 90 minutes to complete . was in recovery for 10 minutes then went home ..my head above the eye was numb until the next day then thur i began to feel some pain
which im taking 1500 mg of acetaminophen and eye drops , it will take i was told about 3 weeks for some sight to come back as the gas disapears, im to sleep on my right side only not on my back or left side ..I can sit up and do as before but am not to fly or go to higher elevations for now ..that is where im at at this point but im hoping to have sight like i once had in my youth with no glasses or contacts

I hope this has helped with your question , God knows i have been thru the ringer and HELL with my eyes

 

[jaykellogg]

I had a bicycle accident (no helmet) in 2004 and had blood in my left eye. I could see bright light but that was all. The surgery was easy and an office procedure. Since that time I had cataract surgery in that eye (due to the vitrectomey). I also had the pocket yellowing bedind the lens and a laser was used to pop holes in it. I also have "traumatic glaucoma" am on three differnet eyedrops, two of which I take twice a day. I still have about 50% sight in that eye aand the loss of the other 50% is due to the injury to my optic nerve.

Bottom line, it was really a simple procedure, but there may be more procedures down the road. I would not turn it down.

One of the eyedrops they gave me was combigan. It slowed my heart rate to 56 (norm is 70-100), My heart rate is now about 80. This is a mixture of timeral and alphagan. The Timeral is the culpret. Talk with your doctors.

 

[Camster]

"Bottom line, it was really a simple procedure, but there may be more procedures down the road. I would not turn it down."

It's not a simple procedure at all.Putting three holes in your eyeball for the tools,etc. and removing the eye's fluid,rendering it hollow,(the fluid can become viscous/tacky with age,which can make removal trickier)in order to access the retina is significant work.The access holes are sutured,and the stitches removed in a few weeks.
With time,the body will refill the interior with fluid.Remaining horizontal,head back,so that the retina stays in place for a month isn't fun.Neither is holding your head down for a month if the doctor chooses to use an air bubble to keep the retina in place.

 

[ScottieG59]

I may need eye surgery at some point. I have started developing cataracts. It sounds like things are improving a great deal.

This is a good topic. Thanks

 

[vytoland]

i had Vitrectomies and other surgeries in both eyes to correct detached retinas. this is serious eye surgery and i would NOT recommended it for "vision improvement". there may be other methods, less invasive, to correct blurred vision.

 

[amazingflapjack]

We appreciate all posts, please continue to share your experience. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Flapjack.

 

[Tunachaser]

I have hade eye surgery twice, in both eyes, I would tell her to do it. She will not be sorry.

 

[jaykellogg]

This does not mesh with my experience. I was 59 when mine was done. There were no sutures to remove. I do not recall three holes, I am thinking two. I did not have a detached retina. As I said, I attribute the first cataract to the surgery

 

[H Richard]

Tuesday of this week I had one done. It was a 2 hour procedure, as was explained above, the draining of the fluid, etc. I had to have the membrane that is in front of the retina removed, as it had pulled loose and was all wrinkled up and caused all straight lines to appear crooked like a snake. Also everything was blurry and a grey haze or curtain appeared over everything. I had to have the cataract fixed first so the Retina specialist would have a clear window to see into to do his work. I had a patch over the eye for just 24 hours, then he removed it the next day in his office. I do wear a patch at night so nothing bumps against it or gets into the eye. He did also repair a small tear in the retina so I have a bubble in the eye, and believe me you don't see anything through that bubble. As it dissipates the level of the bubble goes down, and now 4 days later I can see out of the top half of my eye. I am told it will be 3-6 months before I will have my "best" vision back in that eye, and any Rx lens I have will probably need to be changed. I do not have stitches (at least any I can feel), but it looks like I came out 2nd best in a mugging. Various parts of the eye and surrounding area are very tender. I took a couple Tylenol the first night, otherwise I didn't have what I felt was enough pain to need any pain medication. It is a very serious surgery and you will only find a specialist able to do this in a major metro area. There are only three in the Midwest, St. Louis, Chicago, and Springfield IL. It's a waiting game to see how my vision will turn out.

 

[TACC1]

It's interesting to think that, when we were kids, how little
could have been done. I think I saw a story about cataract
"healers" in the poorer parts of India. Something to do with thorns and ensuing blindness. Let's count our blessings.
Any surgery is unsettling, but we have some almost miraculous
procedures nowadays to make us whole. Prayers for all who go
for their cures. TACC1

 

[KaTz]

an update since surgery - the procudure for me took 90 minutes
thur night the pain sets in - the top of my head on the right side decides to wake up , it feels like my skull is split open and a tiny person is stabbing me - called doc a visit was set up for early fri morn he then gave me Acetazolamid 250 mg take one every 6 hrs for pain - it didnt work called again later i was back in sat morn this time he numbed the eye best he could stuck 2 needles in and released some of the gas from the eye which released the pressure from the eye , he had me keep my head down so it would drop the pressure which normal is below 30 i was above 32 afterward i dropped to 19 .
I felt better went home and slept never to do do anything all day ..i put drops in every 3 hours which are Ofloxacin -10 ml
Combigan 2.5ml ,& Prednisolone Acetate Ophthalmic Suspension 1% 10 ml ..the eye hurts , its painful to move which i pretty much keep shut , i cant see out of it still its all still a blurr . I also am taking 1200 mg of acetaminophen every 6 hours to help also with the pain , it takes the edge off so im able to get out of bed ..by the way im 55 and not a couch potato and this is really difficult for me to do nothing , i do camera and video work for pleasure so to just lay here is killing me ...I was told in possibly 2 months my vision may be to the point where we could be putting a new piggy back lens in to replace the one i just had on aug 6th 2012 - time will tell

 

[H Richard]

I feel blessed, as now in the 6th day post op I only took a Max strength Tylenol for pain the first two days. I am very tender, but do not feel it is enough for any pain meds. My "bubble" is now down to about 15% below center, and I can see over the top, but everything is still hazy. So far I'm very positive about my results, and at this rate expect (hope) to have fairly clear vision within another week. I wish you all the same results. Sounds like the same meds, I have 5 different drops, and 1 ointment (use at night), that I put in 4 times a day some only twice a day.

 

[KaTz]

To H Richard
Im soo looking forward to your results and being able to see over the bubble , thats what gives me hope .

I hope the needle poke to release gas pressure didnt change anything . im tender to the touch around the eye , my son says if i could lift bottom and top lid up id be spooky good for halloween LOL yup thats a 36 yr old for ya and i agree with him , no brusing around the eye only puffin

now as for my arm where the IV was supposte to be I got a nurse who couldnt find the vein now she left 2 massive bruises on my arm 2 inches apart before she finally quit and then had the real nurse put in the IV - yea i was tortured for sure

 

[627 city hunter]

My dad is an optometrist regarded well locally. I will ask his opinion...

 

[medxam]

I had a vitrectomy for a detached retina in 2009. Did all of the uncomfortable measures such as "head down" for over two weeks. Had to take constant pain meds. Guess what, when I finally got my head up, I was blind in that eye. Experts at eye centers tell me that my surgeon let the pressure get too high during the procedure and killed my optic nerve. He still says that I just had and optic nerve stroke, even though I have had several MRI's and MRA's that show that all of my intracranial arteries are WIDE OPEN!

Tread lightly. Look for any alternative and this is from a physician that practiced for over 40 years.

medxam

 

[KaTz]

the last responce now scares the hootie out of me ..its been 5 days i still am not seeing anything but blurr , the pain is still evident in the upper corner of the eye yet the doc says the pressure is down - who do i believe ??? im still popping med's for the pain , ive heard from others that it will take a month before i begin to see over the gas bubble , i can't drive , i can't judge pretty much anything and need to be very careful where i walk , im not cooking , im not doing much other than laying on my side and sleeping , doesnt sound like much of life to me now does it , this isnt how the details were told to me before the surgery so now im in the wait and see mode - the pain truly has made life unpleasant ..Mrs Flapjack if this surgery isnt a truly nessasary surgery id seek all the option's out there before doing this ,

also get a pair of $1.00 reading glasses and put a kleenex on the side of the lens you would be having this surgery on tape it on and see how much fun life is without that eye for just 1 day - let me know how you did , katz

 

[amazingflapjack]

Hi all-computer was down for a couple of days, so I wasn't able to respond. We have prayed for you all, and we are not going ahead with this procedure as of now. Thanks to all of you for sharing your private medical matters. Best Regards, Mr. and Mrs. Flapjack.