Monday, July 7, 2008

Detached Retina (Update #1)

Today I had a follow-up doctor appointment with Dr. Wyant. He is the doctor that performed my second vitrectomy. He had good news for me today. The best news is the retina is completely reattached and looks good. I am still on lifting restrictions and I am unable to do anything strenuous. He is now allowing me to do some walking as long as it is just casual. I can also do more things around the house. I no longer have to worry about the eye getting wet. I can spend as much time reading or working on the computer as I feel up to. I no longer have to use Atropine (drops to dilate my eye) or Zymar (antibiotic). I am still using Pred Forte (for inflammation) 6 times per day. I am excited that I no longer have to dilate my eye - the light was just killing me. It should be more tolerable now.

We talked about why I still only see shadows out of my left eye. He explained that with the first vitrectomy and the use of the gas it caused a cataract in my left eye. When he performed the second vitrectomy he had to remove the lens of my left eye in order to see into my eye to complete the surgery. The lens had clouded over due to the gas bubble. It would have had to be removed later anyway - so he just did it earlier. Well with out the lens the sight is more blurred and can be corrected with glasses. But the other problem is that the lens membrane (which is still in place) is also clouded. I will be have a YAG Laser procedure on Friday, July 11 to make a space in the membrane that isn't clouded. After a few days I should start having some vision in the left eye. It won't be perfect, but with my glasses at least I will have some sight. Eventually I will have to have surgery to take out the oil and replace it with salt water (which the eye will replace naturally with vitreous fluid) and have the lens replaced.

So all in all today was a good day and it finally seems that I am on the road to a full recovery. The doctor told me that hopefully by the end of July I would be released back to work and normal activity.

Detached Retina (Update #2)

1 comment :

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh wow. Your poor eye still looks so swollen, red and sore. And this entire experience all seems so complicated, intricate and frustrating to me.
Good for you that you've got such good spirits and a wonderfully positive attitude.
We are thinking of you down here and pulling for a full and speedy recovery.