Four years ago I was diagnosed with a macular pucker..at that time i do no recall the Dr. recommending surgery. during the past month my sight deteriorated drascally. last week dr said i had a hole in my macular and surgery was necessary. he thought this was fairly new. would i have got this hole if i would have the pucker repaired.
hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm 14 years old and have a MH its really annoying and i only realized that something was wrong with my vision about 6 weeks ago. I have an appointment with a retina specialist tomorrow. I was curious as too what the procedure was, no one was telling me...
anyway, now that i do know what it is i don't understand why its so painful? Is being in a face down position really painful? If i don't go thought with this surgery what will happen? Is there a possibility that I lose my vision in my left eye?Was the worst case scenario basically. I'm so afraid of these things and i don't wanna go through with this.
-Brianna
Brianna:
ReplyDeleteYou present as an unusual, but not unheard of, situation of macular hole in a young person. Most people who have this surgery are in their 60's, 70's or more! The most common reason for such a youthful person to have this problem is trauma, say like a forceful blow to the eye from a volley ball. The fix for a macular hole, as you are probably aware of now, is the removal of the interior contents of the eye, the vitreous, to reduce traction and then the insertion of a gas bubbble. The gas bubble rises and so, for the bubble to place pressure against the hole which is at the back part of the eye, you must bend your head forward and look down. Now the head is a pretty heavy object to hold in that position; imagine holding a 5 lb weight straight out in front of you. Your arm will become fatigued VERY quickly! So will your neck, back and shoulders from holding your head the way you are supposed to do. This is where the discomfort comes in! Not so much the eye itself, but your muscles from maintaining proper positioning! This is why companies like Kelly Comfort Solutions have developed - to provide ways to make holding that position easier. Good luck Brianna, we will be here if you need us! Toni Kelly
I have been trying to find a rental for the equipment for post surgery. Is there an easy site that lists the rental agencys geographicaly, I am wasting so much time on the web trying to find a place near me to rent from?
ReplyDeleteI notice you are from Canada Try Labtician Ophthalmics in Ontario.
ReplyDeleteHi, Toni. AFB Senior Site recently posted a five-part series on recovering from macular hole surgery that I hope you and your readers will find useful, too! The author mentions your company in the resources section.
ReplyDeleteI have been diagnosed with macular hole my only problem is i have a little blurring in the central vision. I have been given two options 1. to have the victrectomy but it is a major operation with complications and the eyesight could end up worse.
ReplyDelete2. If I do not have the victrectomy in a few years my macula will die and they will not be able to operate or do anything - Which choice do I have it is the most diffficult decision I have had to make in my life.
Anonymous 20th January 2011
I have a macular hole and was asked to have victrectomy but decided not to have the operation as there are too many complications.
ReplyDeleteI will nature take its course and let the eye heal itself. This will be spirirtually healing
I just had a vitrectomy for a macular hole and completed my week of face-down positioning. My surgery was successful as my hole is healed and I am now waiting for the gas bubble to dissipate. The surgery itself is pain free. The face-down positioning was challenging and I couldn't have done it without the equipment. Reading all the comments on this blog before my surgery was very helpful to me so I thought I would share my experience, as well.
ReplyDelete-Karen
I had a no. 4 full hole and I have been told it is unlikely to be fully closed - anyone have any experience with a similar sized full thickness hole. (Discovered end October - operated on 22nd Feb.) Any advice helpful. Can anyone tell me how long does the gas bubble remain - I have my op. 3 weeks ago today and the bubble has shrunk so that it covers 55% of my vision. Also how long in the head down position? I have another week before I see my surgeon for the 3rd time since the operation.
ReplyDeleteLast question - how long before I can fly again??
Jill~ After discovering hole around the middle of Jan. my surgery was Feb. 16th. I don't know what no. my hole was but it was closed after one-week of face down positioning. My last appt. with surgeon was Mar. 16th and surgeon said my gas bubble would be gone in a week. Not sure if that will happen since the week will be up tomorrow and my bubble is still here but has shrunk considerably. My guess is it will be gone in another week for sure. Was told the average gas bubble duration is 6 weeks. As far as flying goes, I was informed to not fly until the gas bubble is gone due to a rapid increase in altitude causing a dangerous rise in eye pressure. One other thing that I'm going through is one of my eye drops has kept my eye in a constant state of dilation to prevent scar tissue formation. Surgeon said I'm to stay on all eye drops until bubble is gone.
ReplyDelete-Karen
If you can't see the gas bubble, has it completely gone?
ReplyDeleteI had a vitrectomy for a macula hole two weeks ago. Last night the last little bit of gas bubble disappeared from my eye so does this mean the gas is gone from my eye? I need to know as we're flying to a wedding on 7 April but I've still done nothing about cancelling plane tickets or organising an extra day off so we can drive there. My next appt is 6 April, so I'd like to know before then one way or another.
Lesley~ If it were me, even though the gas bubble is gone, I would call my doctor to ask them about flying.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen - Yes I definitely won't fly until I've had the okay from the specialist - it's just that the appointment is Thursday morning and I'm due to fly Thursday evening so I'd kind of like to know what my chances are of being able to fly...
ReplyDeleteI've looked everywhere on the net and can't tell whether the gas is completely gone once you can't see the bubble?
Lesley~ I would go with the idea if you can't see your bubble, it's gone but I would definitely want my specialist to give me the okay.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you call your specialist and tell them you are set to fly Thursday, they could somehow get you in days earlier...good luck!
I enjoyed your story immensely I intend to add you blog post to my webpage about our experience with macular hole. Feel free to visit (http://www.squidoo.com/macula-hole-eye-health )and make any suggestions
ReplyDeleteHello, I am 28 years old and was also diagnosed with a macular hole as a result of blunt force eye trauma. I have a gray spot about the size of a fist held at full arms length in the center of my vision. This all happened in 2006, and I have only recently learned of this proceedures existance, as unfortunately no surgical proceedure was offered as an option by my specialist at the time. My question is somewhat two-fold: Was surgery available for MH's in 2006? Would surgery at the time have had a greater chance of success than now, nearly 6 years later, and have I missed the window of opportunity to regain vision now? This really upsets me, as my specialist specifically said "theres nothing that can be done -- you'll learn to live with it"
ReplyDelete-Devin
HI Devin: Yes macular hole surgery has been around for more than 20 years. My best advice to you is to seek another opinion NOW. If indeed it is a macular hole then the opportunity may have been lost for best repair. Please see a retina specialist for further advice.
ReplyDeleteI'm on my 8th day after surgery from a macular hole. The first few days I was suffering from back and neck pain. I couldn't stand it so I started to do some stretch exercises daily and it helped a lot. Move your arms around and stretch them sideways and touch your toes (try to). I also borrowed a massage bed from a neighbor with a face rest. I take afternoon naps for 1 or 2 hours a day. At night I sleep on this bed but after a few hours my body starts to ache so I sleep on my bed without the massage bed. I sleep on my side and change sides during the night without sleeping on my back. That's not easy. I went to a follow-up appointment yesterday and the hole is closing down. Very good news for me. I have to continue looking down. I checked out some audio books from the library and also watch movies from Netflex on my laptop. I ran out of ideas for entertainment. But in the meantime I'm trying to keep myself entertained because it's really boring during recovery--Down in Texas
ReplyDeleteI am scheduled for surgery the 30th of April. From what the Dr. has said and what I've read there isn't pain associated with the surgery. It's the post op that is so uncomfortable. Like you I have a massage bed and I asked about renting a chair but my Dr. wasn't favorable for it.
DeleteMine is age related, hate that term. They found the hole when I went in for cataracts. They have been removed from both eyes and the left one is fine.
So how are you doing now? My doctor said the down position would be required from from 7 to 14 days. Did you have to do it that long?
I experienced a detached retina on my way to my ophthalmologist office. He then referred me to a retina specialist within an hour of my visit with him. This specialist performed a Pneumatic Retinopexy in the office. This caused a macula hole which led to a vitrectomy. He did the surgery and did not address the hole. The excuse he used was insufficient lighting. However, when the assisting nurse offered more lighting, he refused it. Since then, I have had cataract surgery and macula hole surgery and laser as well. Now I am experiencing an abnormal amount of fluid in this eye and my vision is getting worse in this eye. The psychological mind games that was used by these two surgeons was unbelievable. I know now after 3 surgeries and 2 procedures on the same eye, I should have taken my chances with the detached retina until I found a doctor who did not view their patient as a source of income primarily, but viewed the patient's health as the priority. At this time I am in search of the truth about my eye health. It seems my questions are now being answered because I know the problem I am experiencing is not normal. This has changed my life. Any advice?
ReplyDeleteI sincerely wish I had some advice for you. I remember when I was searching for information. And to be honest I just wanted to hear that I would come out on the other end of all of it with my vision restored.
DeleteAnd, that I'm pleased to say has happened. I had the surgery on the 30th of April and had a week with the face down recovery. I wouldn't wish this on anyone and hope never to have to go through it again. But I didn't have to do 2 weeks.
I started driving again on the 1st of June. I could have driven before but I wanted to wait until I had the eye exam and knew what exactly my vision was. It turned out to be 20/25 with the only trouble in instant focusing if I got tired.
I have a eye exam this coming Wed and I'm not anticipating any trouble but I'll check to make sure the restriction on mountain and flight travel is lifted.
I think you might want to do some research and find a specialist. Mine is exceptional but unless you live in the Pacific NW wouldn't work. Make an appointment and go from there. Keep us posted if you can. I know from experience how scary this is.