Post Cateracts Surgery Complications / Detatched Retina

[Lazaras]

For the past month and a half I have had issues with my right eye having 'watery' and distorted vision. As it turns out, my retina is partially detatched. It might have happened as a result of my cateracts surgery exasperating preexisting issues, or it may have happened regardless. Either way the core cause, as I am given to understand, stems from the fact I was born three months early and placed in a high oxygen ventelator to keep me alive. As this was before widespread micro-surgery nothing was possible at the time to mitigate issues early in, but at the same time while my vision has always been very bad it had always been 'stable' up til now.


Theoretically something could have been done when I first noticed a change in my vision when the distortion was roughly where my eyelid naturally is when my eyes are open, but the behavior did not conform to what I had always been told a detatched retina would look like. It was blur, looking like a bubble was forming as opposed to a patch of blackness. The problem is any mitigation stratagies and the easy treatment of injections ended when the bubble had gotten into my central vision, otherwise known as the macula.


So next Wensday I am going to go in for surgery where they will place a band around my eye known as a scleral buckle, and take the jelly out of my eye as it is what has been pulling at my retina. The band will create a mid-eyeball bulge to give a ledge to keep my retina in position. An air bubble will be put into my eye to hold my retina in place and once there a laser will, as described to me, 'spot weld' it in place. The air bubble will then hold my retina in place as it heals and will slowly dissipate as new fluid is created in my eye.


During the recovery perid I will have a minamum of two days where I will largely be face down so the bubble will press in the correct place and potentially as long as a week, depending on what the surgens find when they begin the proceedure. Even if I am able to get away with two days of being face down I will then largely have to keep an upright posture and will have to sleep on my side until the bubbble goes away.


I will have to be completely put to sleep for this proceedure, which is the part that concerns me alongside post recovery 'don't do anything to mess up.'


I am going to be bored out of my mind during this period as I will be unable to bend or lift and I will have to moniture my positioning. Theoretically I will be able to listen to podcasts and the like, but reading is a no go due to how much involuntary eye movement is involved.


There is no gurentee of this working. The doctor was quite upbeat and positive, but did note that level of recovery wasn't gurenteed. He hada very easy and approachable manner to him and was trying to keep the big words and jargon to a minamum. Nice fellow and while i had questions I am quite sure the man knows his stuff so my own discomfort is more the situation as a whole.


I'm tired of my eyes betraying me.


And... I'm afraid I will not be able to see the stars after this. It's a silly thing in the grand scale, but considering my eyesight getting made good enough to drive was never on the table with cateracts surgery? I had hopedI at least would be able to see the stars, and for that month after cateracts surgery? I could.


God willing, I suppose, but I put my trust more in modern medacine than faith the lord will make an exemption for me.


Should be happy that there are even treatments for a detatched retina. When I was in school a detatched retina was permenent.


Still feel ripped off that we're getting the cyberpunk trappings of political corruption, partisanship, pandemics, bigotry and riots. Yet we do not have the cool things like completely artificial eyes or bionic limbs.

[Synistor 303]

Mother-in-law had that operation in her 70s and couldn't believe the difference it made. She kept telling us all about the things she could now see.

Good luck - hope all goes well.

[J. Wilhelm]

For the past month and a half I have had issues with my right eye having 'watery' and distorted vision. As it turns out, my retina is partially detatched. It might have happened as a result of my cateracts surgery exasperating preexisting issues, or it may have happened regardless. Either way the core cause, as I am given to understand, stems from the fact I was born three months early and placed in a high oxygen ventelator to keep me alive. As this was before widespread micro-surgery nothing was possible at the time to mitigate issues early in, but at the same time while my vision has always been very bad it had always been 'stable' up til now.


Theoretically something could have been done when I first noticed a change in my vision when the distortion was roughly where my eyelid naturally is when my eyes are open, but the behavior did not conform to what I had always been told a detatched retina would look like. It was blur, looking like a bubble was forming as opposed to a patch of blackness. The problem is any mitigation stratagies and the easy treatment of injections ended when the bubble had gotten into my central vision, otherwise known as the macula.


So next Wensday I am going to go in for surgery where they will place a band around my eye known as a scleral buckle, and take the jelly out of my eye as it is what has been pulling at my retina. The band will create a mid-eyeball bulge to give a ledge to keep my retina in position. An air bubble will be put into my eye to hold my retina in place and once there a laser will, as described to me, 'spot weld' it in place. The air bubble will then hold my retina in place as it heals and will slowly dissipate as new fluid is created in my eye.


During the recovery perid I will have a minamum of two days where I will largely be face down so the bubble will press in the correct place and potentially as long as a week, depending on what the surgens find when they begin the proceedure. Even if I am able to get away with two days of being face down I will then largely have to keep an upright posture and will have to sleep on my side until the bubbble goes away.


I will have to be completely put to sleep for this proceedure, which is the part that concerns me alongside post recovery 'don't do anything to mess up.'


I am going to be bored out of my mind during this period as I will be unable to bend or lift and I will have to moniture my positioning. Theoretically I will be able to listen to podcasts and the like, but reading is a no go due to how much involuntary eye movement is involved.


There is no gurentee of this working. The doctor was quite upbeat and positive, but did note that level of recovery wasn't gurenteed. He hada very easy and approachable manner to him and was trying to keep the big words and jargon to a minamum. Nice fellow and while i had questions I am quite sure the man knows his stuff so my own discomfort is more the situation as a whole.


I'm tired of my eyes betraying me.


And... I'm afraid I will not be able to see the stars after this. It's a silly thing in the grand scale, but considering my eyesight getting made good enough to drive was never on the table with cateracts surgery? I had hopedI at least would be able to see the stars, and for that month after cateracts surgery? I could.


God willing, I suppose, but I put my trust more in modern medacine than faith the lord will make an exemption for me.


Should be happy that there are even treatments for a detatched retina. When I was in school a detatched retina was permenent.


Still feel ripped off that we're getting the cyberpunk trappings of political corruption, partisanship, pandemics, bigotry and riots. Yet we do not have the cool things like completely artificial eyes or bionic limbs.

Good luck and speedy recovery! And yes we are living in a sci-fi future... But a *stupid* sci-fi future, like in the movie "Brazil, instead of something smarter like GitS, Blade Runner, or the like.

[Banfili]

Bon chance, Lazaras!

[E.J.MonCrieff]

Bon chance, Lazaras!

I second that!

I've had a detatched retina in both eyes - one (the left) was treated under general anaesthetic, the other was treated (surgically, with a kind of 'spot welding') while I was under sedation.  It's wonderful what surgeons can do nowadays.  I was told at the time of the first detatchment that I'm in a high-risk group for retinal detatchment as I'm short-sighted. 

The disadvantage is that the surgical treatments probably caused the cataracts....  still, those have been treated too, with replacement lenses fitted in my eyes. 

For a few weeks after the successful surgery on the left eye, I noticed that things with straight edges - doors, windows and the like - seemed to be a bit wavy.  So, if you have visual disturbances after the surgery (when they take the dressings off) - do not worry too much.

Also, I had the gas bubble in the eye too.  I could see it (or rather, a sort of shadow) with my eyes closed!

[Lazaras]

> things with straight edges - doors, windows and the like - seemed to be a bit wavy.

That's how my right eye is currently. Vitrectomy, 'spot welding' and sclaral buckle. i'd been looking for patiants perspective on post op and... it seems to be hit/miss, but if i don't do anything I will eventually lose use of the eye.

So while the prospect not just of being put under but also the recovery where i'll be face down for daysto weeks when I'm the almost nessicary feeling second set of hands for bounce around tasks and help with sibling care... Terrifies me.

My right eye went from being able to see the stars again for that month between cateract surgery and detatchment... to not being able to read because of distortions.

I have faith in God, but i'd rather put my trust in modern medacine.
Do kinda wish mechanical prosthetics were a viable replacement though... Eyeball Mk1 hasn't worked out for me that well.

[Deimos]

> things with straight edges - doors, windows and the like - seemed to be a bit wavy.

That's how my right eye is currently. Vitrectomy, 'spot welding' and sclaral buckle. i'd been looking for patiants perspective on post op and... it seems to be hit/miss, but if i don't do anything I will eventually lose use of the eye.

So while the prospect not just of being put under but also the recovery where i'll be face down for daysto weeks when I'm the almost nessicary feeling second set of hands for bounce around tasks and help with sibling care... Terrifies me.

My right eye went from being able to see the stars again for that month between cateract surgery and detatchment... to not being able to read because of distortions.

I have faith in God, but i'd rather put my trust in modern medacine.
Do kinda wish mechanical prosthetics were a viable replacement though... Eyeball Mk1 hasn't worked out for me that well.

Wasn't sure until I read this (your last post)  but you are going to have exactly the same operation and face-down post-op recovery period that an acquaintance of mine went through, at age 55.
Like you, without the surgery, he would have definitely lost the eye.

 He had the operation, endured 8-10 days of living on his stomach, and the operation failed, the retina failed to re-attach.
Had a second operation, endured another week on his stomach, and the operation failed again, no re-attachment.

The surgeon said there would be one more attempt. If it failed, nothing more could be done, because they couldn't continue traumatizing the eye, which only increases the likelihood of non-reattachment.
The man was told before he agreed to the surgery that tho' success was more likely than failure, it was not a slam-dunk.

Third operation....success.
However, he still has impairment in the eye, a mild tunnel vision.
He was warned about that, too; i.e, that even if the eye were saved, he might not regain totally normal vision.
How much vision is restored is different for every person.
 
He said that if he were asked by someone who was going to have the surgery for the one best piece of advice, he would say:
"Follow the doctor's recovery instructions exactly, to the letter. It may make the difference between a successful operation and a failed one."

I won't only say Good Luck. What I also will say is that I do believe in God (I am a Christian) and I will pray that your operation is a success.
It is OK to have both faith in God and "trust in modern medicine."
I do; 100% faith in the former and, well, maybe not quite 100% trust in the latter.  
(My acquaintance is also a Christian; RC, actually, same as moi.)    
 

[Cora Courcelle]

Thinking of you and hoping for the best outcome.  I'll say a prayer too.

[Lazaras]

Hour and change until I leave. Fun this yesterday with swapping doctors out. A couple reschedule blips... And the fact I have never been put fully under before leaving me in a very frazzled stare.

I will manage. I just don't want this to be effecrivky a wasted trip.

See you fine folk on the other side of this mess.

[Lazaras]

Qm home. Drunk feeling.

Surgery started late but guy said it went exceedingly well.

Can be either face down or kinda sidei n so long as I'm still wimedvdien (with the righbey high)

Guy said I can start being upright Saturday but restrictions in bend and lift would still g in place.

I am home. I am ok.

[J. Wilhelm]

Qm home. Drunk feeling.

Surgery started late but guy said it went exceedingly well.

Can be either face down or kinda sidei n so long as I'm still wimedvdien (with the righbey high)

Guy said I can start being upright Saturday but restrictions in bend and lift would still g in place.

I am home. I am ok.

It's good to hear! Take care.

[Deimos]

...I am home. I am ok.

It's good to hear! Take care.

Ditto....Glad you came through OK.  
Follow those instructions exactly!

[Cora Courcelle]

Really good to hear that.  Take care.

[Lazaras]

Post op day 2 begins
Had to let the dogs out which is fine as itgruiree no bending or strain. On drops now. Which should help we swelling and inflammation is a concern.

I make it through today and tomorrow and I can stand upright wgain

Right eye still has that laval amp look going on but have been told that's normal.

Can see very very general shapes especially if there is high light or contrast. Condtsnt testing up means I'm kinda forced to blink otherwise my eye gets gummy feeling.

Eye isn't comfortable but I'd describe it less as pain and more as general soreness. Still very tender.

Also I can taste the drops after they roll back through my sinuses. Very bleh, but it helps my eye so endure the suck.

[E.J.MonCrieff]

Post op day 2 begins
Had to let the dogs out which is fine as itgruiree no bending or strain. On drops now. Which should help we swelling and inflammation is a concern.

I make it through today and tomorrow and I can stand upright wgain

Right eye still has that laval amp look going on but have been told that's normal.

Can see very very general shapes especially if there is high light or contrast. Condtsnt testing up means I'm kinda forced to blink otherwise my eye gets gummy feeling.

Eye isn't comfortable but I'd describe it less as pain and more as general soreness. Still very tender.

Also I can taste the drops after they roll back through my sinuses. Very bleh, but it helps my eye so endure the suck. 

Thinking of you, and hoping you have a speedy recovery

[Lazaras]

Week one followup seems to have gone well.

Doctors visit went well

From what they can tell as of now everything is looking pretty solid. My drops are dropping down from every two hours to four times a day this week, three the next, and on and on til none.

Can't really test vision because the bubble basically leaves that eye not useable.

But no strain/heavy lifting no operating machinery (sadly no I can't run the trimmer) keep grit or smoke out of my eye, but I can be up and doing and be more upright, so no more needing to be stuck laying down. Can't lay on my back though, not til the bubble goes away.

[Deimos]

Week one followup seems to have gone well.

Doctors visit went well

From what they can tell as of now everything is looking pretty solid. My drops are dropping down from every two hours to four times a day this week, three the next, and on and on til none.

Can't really test vision because the bubble basically leaves that eye not useable.

But no strain/heavy lifting no operating machinery (sadly no I can't run the trimmer) keep grit or smoke out of my eye, but I can be up and doing and be more upright, so no more needing to be stuck laying down. Can't lay on my back though, not til the bubble goes away.

Good news ... always welcome, especially where someone's well being is concerned.
So, do you have to sleep on your stomach, or are you permitted to sleep on your side?  

[Lazaras]

Stomach/side, so long as I'm not on my back I'm good.

I'm in that dangerous part of recovery where i mostly feel fine, I can do things, but it's entirely too easy to get in over my head. Especially when I feel pretty scummy about other thigns going on and I can't help... and (well meaning and intended to be in good nature) getting ribbed about it. (at least i hope it's well meaning.)

[Deimos]

Stomach/side, so long as I'm not on my back I'm good.

I'm in that dangerous part of recovery where i mostly feel fine, I can do things, but it's entirely too easy to get in over my head. Especially when I feel pretty scummy about other thigns going on and I can't help... and (well meaning and intended to be in good nature) getting ribbed about it. (at least i hope it's well meaning.)

Assume that the ribbing is well-meaning, unless you have good reason not to. 
Toxic "friends" sooner or later show their true colors.
No point in getting upset, unless/until it happens.
And even then, you can't change others' behavior; you can only control how you deal with it.
So, press on with that recovery! Excelsior!

[Lazaras]

Week two of my recovery

When looking straight ahead the bubble is down to between half and a third. Honestly it's more the curve of the bubble has become more pronounced. I am told my fave only looks slightly puffy, but considering I have been asked 'is that all your rubeola opej' in spite of my eye to me feeling like it is all the way open. Suggests my eyelids appear somewhat saggy

I have noticed lines aren't straight. I can read out of my right eye so long as I'm not looking through the edge of the bubble. But it isn't 'perfevt'.

I have no idea how things are supposed to improve over time but I have been told my right eye won't 'settle' for nine months to a year so I dunno.

Colors and contrast are a hell of a lot better than my left eye. That honestly concerns me. Why is my left eye so terrible with contrast and can anything be done about it.

Bill came for the initial cateracts surgery. So far I ow somewhere on the order of 16k. Stepdad's insurance has toned that down to 'omly' a couple thousand, but there is nothing yet on thevrtina surgery bill or the relted visits.

Nobody has given me any kind of grief over thee costs, but this right here is demonstration in ehy America's health care system is bullshit. Yes doctors need compensation for the years not just in school and residency. But the continual upkeep and writing papers while practicing to keep up to date and to increase their own standing with colleges and potential employers but....

Let's say I had no insurance. That surgery which is literally the most common surgery in the country, costs as much as a car...

And typically those going through this surgery are later in their life, disabled, and or on a fixed income.

And if you don't have that surgery you go blind, it's inky a mattervof when.

This says nothing of the retina surgery I went through which is probably going to be MORE expensive and the recovery is less assured...


For instance I was given good odds on great recovery and I probably will never see straight out of my right eye again.

This is basic 'if these surgeries do not happen you lose one of your senees' thins.... Not electives not for vanity's sake. This is to try keeping ones own capabilities from going down, or maybe if God smiles down on you maybe get some of what was lost back.

And they are charging arm and leg prices for this....

It leaves me bitter and upset that I again have confirmation that this is the way of things.

[Deimos]

Be careful what you wish for.

UK, Canada, Europe all have socialized medicine. But that doesn't mean that all medical procedures are covered.
"Who pays the piper gets to call the tune. "  
The health ministries of those govts determine not only what procedures you are eligible for  but even if you are eligible at all.

That is, they can simply say NO to you for a procedure that would solve your problem.
Case in point, not a few folks over 65 in the UK are being denied cataract surgery, or told it will be postponed.
Postponing it can led to complications, being denied it WILL lead to blindness.  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3724695/Cataracts-Just-wear-dark-glasses-grandmother-told-Elderly-patients-refused-surgery-NHS-refuses-pay.html

This is happening because socialized medicine, like all socialized programs, eventually they run out of [other people's] money.

Of course, you can always buy private insurance , like in the US, and get your medical care that way.
Most people in favor of universal health care don't know that; to wit that in the UK and Europe one can buy private health insurance, thus eliminating the possibility being denied a procedure, or having  less effective procedure done instead (because it's cheaper) or the almost certainty of a long wait time for any elective procedure (unless the condition is life threatening).  

People in Canada routinely cross the boarder to get elective surgery in the US in a timely manner, not wishing to wait 6 months to a year for, say, shoulder or hip or knee surgery.

If you want an idea of what if will be like if the US goes to a UK model of health care see:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/health/nhs-healthcare/nhs-patients-rights/#h-hospital-waiting-lists

Canada's model is less desirable as you cannot buy private insurance at all.
Which is why all well-heeled US politicians (i.e. 99% of them) are pushing the UK model.
They will all have private insurance, because no way are they going to tolerate waiting months and months for elective surgery.
But they will push legislation that will make you and me wait for it, because they have made private insurance all but unaffordable for the average citizen.
https://healthpayerintelligence.com/features/how-the-affordable-care-act-changed-the-face-of-health-insurance

To get an idea of how a single payer system would work in the US:
https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/medicare-advantage-gives-insight-into-single-payer-systems  
 

[Synistor 303]

Be careful what you wish for.

UK, Canada, Europe all have socialized medicine. But that doesn't mean that all medical procedures are covered.
"Who pays the piper gets to call the tune. "  
The health ministries of those govts determine not only what procedures you are eligible for  but even if you are eligible at all.

That is, they can simply say NO to you for a procedure that would solve your problem.
Case in point, not a few folks over 65 in the UK are being denied cataract surgery, or told it will be postponed.
Postponing it can led to complications, being denied it WILL lead to blindness.  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3724695/Cataracts-Just-wear-dark-glasses-grandmother-told-Elderly-patients-refused-surgery-NHS-refuses-pay.html

This is happening because socialized medicine, like all socialized programs, eventually they run out of [other people's] money.

Of course, you can always buy private insurance , like in the US, and get your medical care that way.
Most people in favor of universal health care don't know that; to wit that in the UK and Europe one can buy private health insurance, thus eliminating the possibility being denied a procedure, or having  less effective procedure done instead (because it's cheaper) or the almost certainty of a long wait time for any elective procedure (unless the condition is life threatening).  

People in Canada routinely cross the boarder to get elective surgery in the US in a timely manner, not wishing to wait 6 months to a year for, say, shoulder or hip or knee surgery.

If you want an idea of what if will be like if the US goes to a UK model of health care see:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/health/nhs-healthcare/nhs-patients-rights/#h-hospital-waiting-lists

Canada's model is less desirable as you cannot buy private insurance at all.
Which is why all well-heeled US politicians (i.e. 99% of them) are pushing the UK model.
They will all have private insurance, because no way are they going to tolerate waiting months and months for elective surgery.
But they will push legislation that will make you and me wait for it, because they have made private insurance all but unaffordable for the average citizen.
https://healthpayerintelligence.com/features/how-the-affordable-care-act-changed-the-face-of-health-insurance

To get an idea of how a single payer system would work in the US:
https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/medicare-advantage-gives-insight-into-single-payer-systems  
 

Hmmm... I think this borders on the political. I'm sure you can find a single newspaper article that will support any argument against what you call 'socialised' medical care, but keep you sticky fingers off our medical system thanks. (And I just noticed that all of your articles come from the same source...)

[Deimos]

1) Lazarus first brought it up, not I  
          
Nobody has given me any kind of grief over thee costs, but this right here is demonstration in ehy America's health care system is bullshit. Yes doctors need compensation for the years not just in school and residency. But the continual upkeep and writing papers while practicing to keep up to date and to increase their own standing with colleges and potential employers but....

(I don't understand that...other members can discuss topics that have political comments but I can't?)

2) I have no desire to have our medical care system change to a single payer system and or fully socialized medicine such as Australia's or the UK's or Canada's or the EU's.
You are quite welcome to it. I just want our politicos to stop using the example of other countries systems as a system we should switch to.  
    

[J. Wilhelm]

Zip it, all three of you. Do like tourists are advised, when visiting other countries: no controversial discussions. Don't assume your local politics are equivalent to another country's politics. That's an amateurish mistake I see very often, exacerbated by the speed and spread of the Internet.

Also, as a comment, don't assume that we're "letting anyone" get away with political comments. Rest assured we're not. I didn't see Lazaras' post, nor Synistor's or Deimos' responses until I just sat down to have my lunch at work!

[Lazaras]

It does border on the political, apologies.

I do not pretend to know what the solution would look like. I'm just aggrivated at how I'm keeping my eyes mostly because I have family that's able to deal with the financial consiquences'. Having ones vision dependant on ones wallet is.... Honestly terrifying.