Aa
Many enormus questions after 3 retina surgeries
I've had an enourmus amount of retina problems since march. I fell and hit my head, had a very tiny retinal tear. Had laser in the office and was told it would probably never detatch.
3 weeks later it started to detatch and there was a bleeding vein behind it.(was told i had bad luck) Went for surgery, had re-attachment, gas bubble. Things went well, was seeing 20/40.
10 days after surgery, eye went dark, told i had blood in it, went to surgery, had an unexplained retinal vein occlusion, (told i had bad luck again) fixed occlusion, air bubble. Was seeing great 20/40.
3 weeks later, had distorted vision and a black cloud moving over my eye, things went dark. Was told i had PVS(lots of scar tissue on the center of my eye), and that it pulled my retina off. (told again i have REALLY bad luck). Needed another surgery.
Changed doctors, had a 3 hour surgery, could not do a buckle, only cut off as much scar tissue as possible, and cut off the bottom of the retina because it was "stiff" from scarring. Re-attached the retina, took out the lens as it was too damaged to save. Have an oil bubble. Starting to recover, can see the top 2 rows of the eye chart. I was told yesterday i have to have laser in the office to laser the entire perimeter of my retina. Then 2 weeks later, anothe surgery to trim off the top of my retina that has a bubble on it. then 2 months later, removal of the oil bubble. I know that's a lot, but has anyone outh there had anything like this,or any part of it? just wondering what my sight hopes should be for the future! Thank you.
3 weeks later it started to detatch and there was a bleeding vein behind it.(was told i had bad luck) Went for surgery, had re-attachment, gas bubble. Things went well, was seeing 20/40.
10 days after surgery, eye went dark, told i had blood in it, went to surgery, had an unexplained retinal vein occlusion, (told i had bad luck again) fixed occlusion, air bubble. Was seeing great 20/40.
3 weeks later, had distorted vision and a black cloud moving over my eye, things went dark. Was told i had PVS(lots of scar tissue on the center of my eye), and that it pulled my retina off. (told again i have REALLY bad luck). Needed another surgery.
Changed doctors, had a 3 hour surgery, could not do a buckle, only cut off as much scar tissue as possible, and cut off the bottom of the retina because it was "stiff" from scarring. Re-attached the retina, took out the lens as it was too damaged to save. Have an oil bubble. Starting to recover, can see the top 2 rows of the eye chart. I was told yesterday i have to have laser in the office to laser the entire perimeter of my retina. Then 2 weeks later, anothe surgery to trim off the top of my retina that has a bubble on it. then 2 months later, removal of the oil bubble. I know that's a lot, but has anyone outh there had anything like this,or any part of it? just wondering what my sight hopes should be for the future! Thank you.
Yeah, on my trips to Duke the doc. wasn't all that optimistic about my recovery for my left eye, but mentioned it would still be a better "spare tire" than nothing. As for the right eye the doc. thought my case was being well handled by the doc. at "home".
As for managing the PVR, it really is just more of a "wait and see" (no pun intended) sort of thing. The growth of scar tissue will eventually stop on its own, but when and how much vision is spared is really not clear. I was, and still am, on a tapering dose of oral prednisone for the PVR. So you may want to try and talk to your doctor to see if that is something s/he recommends. Also, I am still on the prednisolone acetate ophthalmic suspension 1%.
About the peripheral vision, I wasn't saying that you wouldn't have any, rather, what you have will be less. So your overall visual field in the RD eye will be worse than in the non-RD eye. How much worse it will be depends on how much of the retina is removed.
I'm debating whether or not to get an IOL in my right eye. I'm a bit worried about the risks. Of course I still have a bit more healing to go before I can even seriously start to consider this!
I live in Charlotte, close to the UNCC area. Again, take care and good luck. Please don't hesitate to message me if you need more info or want to chat! Trust me I know what you're going through!
As for managing the PVR, it really is just more of a "wait and see" (no pun intended) sort of thing. The growth of scar tissue will eventually stop on its own, but when and how much vision is spared is really not clear. I was, and still am, on a tapering dose of oral prednisone for the PVR. So you may want to try and talk to your doctor to see if that is something s/he recommends. Also, I am still on the prednisolone acetate ophthalmic suspension 1%.
About the peripheral vision, I wasn't saying that you wouldn't have any, rather, what you have will be less. So your overall visual field in the RD eye will be worse than in the non-RD eye. How much worse it will be depends on how much of the retina is removed.
I'm debating whether or not to get an IOL in my right eye. I'm a bit worried about the risks. Of course I still have a bit more healing to go before I can even seriously start to consider this!
I live in Charlotte, close to the UNCC area. Again, take care and good luck. Please don't hesitate to message me if you need more info or want to chat! Trust me I know what you're going through!
yes, bad luck is one way of putting it, but i wonder if my eye was mis-treated? the eye doc i have now is so conservatie. the macula was detatched in the middle, so that's probably why my sight is so limited. My first retinotomy was the bottom of my retiana, and the second will be of the top, so i'm hoping for peripheral vision when i'm said and done? I have no lens at this point, and may not ever have one. Girlie, i went to Duke, they didn't give me much hope but to keep trying! You're right, many, many students looked at me, but they did a lot of x-rays and tests, and my good eye is rockin'! I go to Charlotte EENT, but do know of Verizon. The PVR (sorry i said pvs), has really torn my eye up. I just hope the scar tissue can be kept at bay this time, any suggestions on that? I live in Matthews, N.C., are you close by? Please feel free to e-mail me. Thank you for your, as always, informational answers!
Umm...bad luck is one way of putting it!
Vision wise you'll definitely want to make sure to protect the other eye!
In terms of recovering vision in the RD eye it depends on many factors. If the macula was detached your recovery to 20/40 will be a struggle. If the macula was not effected then you've got a better chance of recovering vision. However, you're peripheral vision will be significantly impacted due to the retinectomies (removal of portions of your retina), laser, and other treatments.
The silicone oil should not be removed until the retina appears completely stable!!! Sometimes the retina will still detach with the oil. Also, the vision with an oil retained eye is not so great. If you're currently aphakic (no IOL was implanted after your lensectomy) then avoid laying on your back for long periods of time as the oil will come to the front of the eye which could cause problems.
At some point if you want another opinion you could always take a trip up to Duke Eye Center. Although, I warn you, the wait time there is incredibly long and you're seen by a zillion people: assistants, fellows, etc. before you actually see the doctor you're appointed to. Or if you want a second opinion a bit closer to "home" (your profile says that you live in Matthews, NC) I highly recommend any of the vitreoretinal specialists at HorizonEye Care.
Good luck in your recovery. It will take some time and the eventual outcome of complex cases of RD w/PVR proliferative vitreoretinopathy (not PVS) is oftentimes disappointing, but there is always hope.
If you want more info, you can do a search here and browse through the posts of others and myself who've gone through a somewhat similar experience. Or feel free to PM me.
Vision wise you'll definitely want to make sure to protect the other eye!
In terms of recovering vision in the RD eye it depends on many factors. If the macula was detached your recovery to 20/40 will be a struggle. If the macula was not effected then you've got a better chance of recovering vision. However, you're peripheral vision will be significantly impacted due to the retinectomies (removal of portions of your retina), laser, and other treatments.
The silicone oil should not be removed until the retina appears completely stable!!! Sometimes the retina will still detach with the oil. Also, the vision with an oil retained eye is not so great. If you're currently aphakic (no IOL was implanted after your lensectomy) then avoid laying on your back for long periods of time as the oil will come to the front of the eye which could cause problems.
At some point if you want another opinion you could always take a trip up to Duke Eye Center. Although, I warn you, the wait time there is incredibly long and you're seen by a zillion people: assistants, fellows, etc. before you actually see the doctor you're appointed to. Or if you want a second opinion a bit closer to "home" (your profile says that you live in Matthews, NC) I highly recommend any of the vitreoretinal specialists at HorizonEye Care.
Good luck in your recovery. It will take some time and the eventual outcome of complex cases of RD w/PVR proliferative vitreoretinopathy (not PVS) is oftentimes disappointing, but there is always hope.
If you want more info, you can do a search here and browse through the posts of others and myself who've gone through a somewhat similar experience. Or feel free to PM me.
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