julia

Hi, i have recently been to see a optician and eye surgoen who have told me that i have got UV damage. I have scarring in the corner of each that looks like yellow spots.
the surgeon has told me he can remove them. This would be done while im awake, the eye would be numbed and then the fatty tissue removed.

is there any danger of loosing my sight and what do you think about the procedure? Is it safe? i would be paying for this at a cost of £1000 as this is classed as cosmetic

kind regards

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

What you are describing would seem to be either a removal of a pinguecula (please Google the term then use GOOGLE IMAGES to see pictures of same) or pterygium removal.

Pinguecula removal is rarely done in the USA and would generally be considered cosmetic. A thousand pounds seems quite expensive. There should be minimum risk to the eye but there are risks of reoccurence of pinguecula or scar tissue that is more noticiable then the yellow spots.

Pterygium removal however is usually covered by insurance since the tissue is starting to grow over the cornea towards the center of the pupil and casues scaring of the cornea and irregular astigmatism. There is little risk to the eye but the reoccurence rate may be as high as 20%.

JCH III MD