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.
ReplyDeletehi, its very informative, Neck Ache , thanks
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.
ReplyDelete