UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

I need to hear opinions.
I had a cornea transplant in my right eye on April/05, and on February/06, I started to do the contact fitting.

My doctor told me that after the transplant the fitting process will be much easier, and also she mentioned that I could wear regular (gas permeable) contacts or just glasses, not the KC contacts.
She was wrong because now I'm not only using KC contacts but also I'm doing the piggy back.

So, at the end nothing that she expected had happen, so now I'm thinking, why I need to go throuth the surgery for my left eye and the long recovery?
Anybody up there dealing with the same situation?.

At this point I don't want to do the transplant in my left eye.
Today I went back to my optometrist to start again the fitting to my left eye and see if she can find me a contact, because 2 years ago, I couldn't tolarate it for more than 4 hours.
I hope I have luck this time.

Hi Malena and welcome

Has your opthalmologist removed any stitches, if so did they make any improvment in your vision. What is your vision like with and without glasses in your grafted eye. It may have been fairly early being fitted with rgps within 10 months of having a graft. When I had a graft, 8 months ago, I was told that it would take 6+ months to see a significant change in my vision.

After having a graft, usually a longer time, some may be able to see fine without the need for any correction. However some are able to see fairly well with glasses and others may have to wear contacts again, but as you already know it may easier to fit lenses as the cornea will probably be less steeper. Removal of stitches after a graft can also affect your vision.

What contact lens types have you tried in your left eye? I also could not tolerate the small corneal rgp lenses and eventually found slightly more comfortable lenses after going through several lens types and fittings.

Malena

It does seem that you are having lenses fitted quite sooner than is normally observed. This isnt a bad thing, it could just mean you are a fast healer!

As Asif said, alot does depend on how many and IF you have sutures still in the eye? Was this a usual Penetrating full graft?

Which other lenses have you tried on the grafted eye?

J

Malena

Welcome to thr forum

I'd be asking thw same questions as Asif and Jay, so I won't bore you. Just wanted to say welcome, and assure you that this is the right place to bring your concerns.

for my part, I had a PK graft (the most common sort) in December 2003. I still have not been fitted with contact lenses, but can see pretty well with glasses. I was nearly two years after the operation before my sight recovered to any significant extent.

Andrew

for your responds.
To answer your question, my vision with contact is 20/30 in my right eye.
I don't know if is too soon to wear contacts, but I'm so glad because with my left eye I'm legally blind, so I couldn't drive at night for the last 10 months.

My doctor tried to fit me with regular contacts and with glasses but my vision was so poor, so that's why now I'm using KC contacts (piggy back).

And you are right! after the cornea transplant my doctor found a contact pretty quick.

Before the transplants I was going to the fitting process for a year, and I couldn't wear the contacts more than 4 hours (that's nothing).

That's why I'm giving this month of March to put my ideas in order and try make a decision to go for the graft in my left eye.

That's why I'm writting here, because I know that everybody here knows what I'm talking about.

thanks again

to answer the other question.

I still have all stiches in my eye.

Malena

Give my regards to sunny California.

Like you I struggled with blindness during my long recovery from surgery, but I think my ophthalmologist took the view that there was too much risk for the new graft associated with contact lens wear.

I'll be interested to follow your progress, if you don't mind keeping us in touch with how things are going.

All the best

Andrew

My advice would be speak to your opthalmologist and see whether it is possible for some stitches to be removed at this stage based on eye scans (topography) as it may improve your vision slightly, and possibly get refracted again at a later stage to see whether you are able to wear glasses. As to me it seems fairly sudden to start wearing RGPs when you havent had any stitches removed yet. I would have thought to try removing stitches to improve your vision and reduce astigmatism, and if it did not help and neither do wearing glasses than at that stage would you start to wear RGPs again.It may be easier fitting a lens onto a grafted eye as the cornea may be slightly less steeper than before.

As for your ungrafted eye, I would try every possible lens out there available to you before thinking about grafting it.

Nearly a year after surgery, by that time I had most of my stitches out but the rate they are removed depends on the types of stitches and the quality of the healing.

Single suture needs to come out in one go, if like me you had individual sutures, they come out gradually during the healing process to ensure the graft heals in a near normal position as is possible.

There are still surgeons round the world selling grafts as a cure, but really it is another management strategy as all end up with lenses or glasses at some point post graft.

Without lubricating eye drops, I can not manage a lens for more than two hours. Eye drops every three hours (means taking my lenses out to do this) and I get a total wear time of 15 hours.

Might be worth finding out the quality of your tears.

It is a difficult decission, but if you are legally blind in the ungrafted eye what have you to loose?

Just because one graft has not yielded the results we hope for, there is still a chance the second will.

I know it is easy for me to say sat here, but both my grafts are over 16 years old and I wear lenses still.

Asks loads of questions based on your past experience and feel free to share your feelings both good and bad.

Regards

Gareth

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
You mentioned trying rgp lenses and having problems. Are these corneal or scleral ones?
If you haven't yet tried them, it might be worth having a go at sclerals.
They are also made of RGp material normally, but are larger, fitting over the white part of the eye, so they are clear of the irregularities of the graft edges, stitches etc.
Good luck, whichever way you go!

Rosemary