Detached Retina - no damn fun at all!

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JeffisOld

JeffisOld

Old, Ugly and generally Disagreeable!
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Sophia,NC
Yesterday I awoke noticing what they call "floaters" or spots moving across my field of vision. By 11 AM the lower L quadrant of the field of vision in my eye was shutting down. The darkness was closing in and I knew I would be blind in that she by the end of the day.

After having cataract surgery about 14 and 15 yrs ago I was warned that the likelihood of a retinal detachment went up about 100 fold but still quite rare. RIGHT! I had one in my L eye about 5 hrs ago but I just went totally blind that time.

After a frantic visit to a retinal specialist's office I was in surgery the following morning. Incredibly, I had to stay on my back for several days to heal but the good Lord allowed me to see thanks to some incredible surgical techniques!

This time, after moving to NC from KY, I contacted a retina bc specialist in Greensboro and went in on a Saturday afternoon. He examined my eye and was able to repair my eye in the office.

He dialated, inspected and began to numb the surface of my eye with topical drops. Then he took a loooong needle and went through my eye to the nerves behind the retina focus and put my whole eye to sleep. After a few minutes he went in with another needle attached to a cryogenic (cold) fluid of some type. He applied small amounts of this fluid on the area behind where the retina was detached from the wall of the eye orbit. He explained that by doing this the body creates a type of adhesive that would hold the retina back down when it was pressed back in place.

The amazing part to me was the next part.

He injected bubbles of nitrogen gas to fill approx. 10% of the volume of my orbit. The gas rising will press the retina back in place as long as you hold your head in the proper position. Fortunately my seperation, or detachment was in the lower portion of my visual field which meant it was at the top of my eye as we see inverse of the light refraction. All I have had to do is move the bubbles around to apply pressure on the retina.

Luckily when I went back today I was given a clean bill and will most likely have no need for standard surgery. I will need a few more follow up to verify healing but I got one hell of a Father's Day present! Vision!

Anyway I thought a few of you might be interested.

Especially it you have had cataract surgery!

Good luck
 
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Good news that it all worked out. Modern surgery is pretty amazing. Glad you are on the mend now and retain your vision.
 
AJ/FormS said:
Sad story with a fantastic happy ending.
Click to expand...

Nothing sad at all!

I am blessed beyond belief to keep my vision.

#1. I get to finish my car!

#2. I don't have sell all my handguns to buy shotguns!
 
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JeffisOld said:
Nothing sad at all!

I am blessed beyond belief to keep my vision.

#1. I get to finish my carcar!

#2. I don't have sell all my handguns to buy shotguns!
Click to expand...
No-No; I meant sadabout the whole deal about cataracts and having a retinal detachment, and then having the procedure.
Maybe sad wasn't the best choice of words.
 
I once had a piece of steel removed from my eye. The experience was one of the most unpleasant things ever.
How you can deal with it is beyond me.glad you are on the mend.
My problem is macular degeneration, not something to look forward to.
 
Leave it to a Marine to come up with an elaborate excuse to say he couldn't see getting out of bed for a few days.
:lol:
Glad to hear you're doing good.
 
JeffisOld said:
Yesterday I awoke noticing what they call "floaters" or spots moving across my field of vision. By 11 AM the lower L quadrant of the field of vision in my eye was shutting down. The darkness was closing in and I knew I would be blind in that she by the end of the day.

After having cataract surgery about 14 and 15 yrs ago I was warned that the likelihood of a retinal detachment went up about 100 fold but still quite rare. RIGHT! I had one in my L eye about 5 hrs ago but I just went totally blind that time.

After a frantic visit to a retinal specialist's office I was in surgery the following morning. Incredibly, I had to stay on my back for several days to heal but the good Lord allowed me to see thanks to some incredible surgical techniques!

This time, after moving to NC from KY, I contacted a retina bc specialist in Greensboro and went in on a Saturday afternoon. He examined my eye and was able to repair my eye in the office.

He dialated, inspected and began to numb the surface of my eye with topical drops. Then he took a loooong needle and went through my eye to the nerves behind the retina focus and put my whole eye to sleep. After a few minutes he went in with another needle attached to a cryogenic (cold) fluid of some type. He applied small amounts of this fluid on the area behind where the retina was detached from the wall of the eye orbit. He explained that by doing this the body creates a type of adhesive that would hold the retina back down when it was pressed back in place.

The amazing part to me was the next part.

He injected bubbles of nitrogen gas to fill approx. 10% of the volume of my orbit. The gas rising will press the retina back in place as long as you hold your head in the proper position. Fortunately my seperation, or detachment was in the lower portion of my visual field which meant it was at the top of my eye as we see inverse of the light refraction. All I have had to do is move the bubbles around to apply pressure on the retina.

Luckily when I went back today I was given a clean bill and will most likely have no need for standard surgery. I will need a few more follow up to verify healing but I got one hell of a Father's Day present! Vision!

Anyway I thought a few of you might be interested.

Especially it you have had cataract surgery!

Hope I never know !
How do they keep u perfectly still,
w/o moving ur eye or head, or trying to blink ? SCARY !
Click to expand...
 
While in the Army, I took shrapnel to my face. Right suffered catastrophic damage (severed the optical nerve) and I was instantly blind in that eye. Left eye suffered just as much damage, although the optical nerve wasn’t hit, I had retinal detachment, lost/damaged 1/3 of the “fingers” that hold the lens in place, lost all the fluid in both eyes, had to sleep sitting up with my head between my knees to help the retina stay in place after it was lasered back to the wall of the eye and a few other things that I can’t pronounce.
Docs in Israel saved my left eye, right eye was patched up cause our Government didn’t want them to remove anything.
Spent 6 weeks in Israel, 3 in Germany and another 6 at Walter Reed Medical Center where it was determined that my right eye had to be removed and a prosthetic made to take its place.
I’ve had several surgeries on my left eye since the Gulf War, and the most recent was 5 years ago. My lens was removed due to a cataract and those “fingers” that I mentioned earlier, well they weren’t able to hold the new lens so it was put in the front of my eye. Normally that surgery is out patient, mine took 6 hours, had to stay overnight at the San Francisco VA hospital and had to where an eye patch for 3 days.....I was totally blind for that time period and yes, it sucked! My dad took my kids to school and I just sat around doing nothing.
The VA still would like to do another surgery on my right eye, but I’ve been through enough pain in with my eyes, they want to make the prosthetic move more (I have only 4 muscles with a surgical ball to take up space in that eye socket) remove the surgical ball and replace it with a different one that has a hole in it so the new prosthetic eye will have a peg that will sit in the hole and therefore move more. Not gonna happen.
My point is this, take care of your eyes, wear eye protection when needed and when something doesn’t seem right, get them checked. I’m glad you caught it quickly and was resolved, could have worse.
 
5.7 hemi said:
While in the Army, I took shrapnel to my face. Right suffered catastrophic damage (severed the optical nerve) and I was instantly blind in that eye. Left eye suffered just as much damage, although the optical nerve wasn’t hit, I had retinal detachment, lost/damaged 1/3 of the “fingers” that hold the lens in place, lost all the fluid in both eyes, had to sleep sitting up with my head between my knees to help the retina stay in place after it was lasered back to the wall of the eye and a few other things that I can’t pronounce.
Docs in Israel saved my left eye, right eye was patched up cause our Government didn’t want them to remove anything.
Spent 6 weeks in Israel, 3 in Germany and another 6 at Walter Reed Medical Center where it was determined that my right eye had to be removed and a prosthetic made to take its place.
I’ve had several surgeries on my left eye since the Gulf War, and the most recent was 5 years ago. My lens was removed due to a cataract and those “fingers” that I mentioned earlier, well they weren’t able to hold the new lens so it was put in the front of my eye. Normally that surgery is out patient, mine took 6 hours, had to stay overnight at the San Francisco VA hospital and had to where an eye patch for 3 days.....I was totally blind for that time period and yes, it sucked! My dad took my kids to school and I just sat around doing nothing.
The VA still would like to do another surgery on my right eye, but I’ve been through enough pain in with my eyes, they want to make the prosthetic move more (I have only 4 muscles with a surgical ball to take up space in that eye socket) remove the surgical ball and replace it with a different one that has a hole in it so the new prosthetic eye will have a peg that will sit in the hole and therefore move more. Not gonna happen.
My point is this, take care of your eyes, wear eye protection when needed and when something doesn’t seem right, get them checked. I’m glad you caught it quickly and was resolved, could have worse.
Click to expand...
I'll add that in spite of that you are one of the finest craftsman I've seen and what my granddad called good people.
 
5.7 hemi said:
My point is this, take care of your eyes, wear eye protection when needed and when something doesn’t seem right, get them checked.
Click to expand...

Indeed!!!!!

I'm glad to hear you have vision at all young man! Take care of yourself and Thank You for all you've given for this nation!
 
JeffisOld said:
Indeed!!!!!

I'm glad to hear you have vision at all young man! Take care of yourself and Thank You for all you've given for this nation!
Click to expand...
Jeff, if his Polara build is still viewable on FBBO, you should check it out.
 
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