UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Not been on for a while. However, my son is having his corneal transplant tomorrow at the Queen Victoria hospital, East Grinstead. He has been waiting for 6 months for this op but got a phone call yesterday to say someone cancelled and he could have it done. My son has gone down today ( we live in Cheshire) for his pre op, and then my husband and I are going down tomorrow to be with him when he has his op and then bringing him back on Thursday. My son's wife can't go with him because they have a 2 week old daughter. We are very nervous for Simon and would love to hear from anyone who has had this op to let me know what to expect for the next couple of weeks.

Annie

Annie

The first thing is to know that for most people everything goes very well indeed. Everything will be explained at your son's pre-theatre assessment.

In Glasgow the routine is more-or-less like this: Nothing to eat after midnight on the day before the surgery, and report to the hospital at 0800. Transplants are done first on the list so there is not long to wait. Before leaving the ward, Glasgow patients are given a huge box with the words "Human Tissue for Transplant" emblazoned in large blue friendly letters.

Then there is a bit of a wait in the theatre reception area. They check that you are the right person and make sure that you have signed everything that needs to be signed. The surgeon came out to say hello.

Then to the anesthetic room. They take blood pressure (again), and chat away. A needle is inserted and the patient falls fast asleep.

When I awoke I was in recovery, wearing an eye shield and a nurse was saying that I could go back to the ward.

At the ward they offered lunch, but I preferred to sleep.

The surgeon came to the ward and explained what he had done and that I had 16 sutures holding my new cornea in place. Because I live a distance from the hospital they kept me in overnight. First thing the next day I attended a clinic and all was well. My wife came to collect me and we returned home.

4 weeks later I had another clinic and all was well. The sutures remained in place for 18 months before the first of them was removed and then another six months or so before the rest came out. It then took 4 - 6 weeks for my vision to stabilize so that it was worthwhile having glasses made.

I now have better than 6/6 vision using specs for my right eye and a contact lens for my left.

Tell your son that he will be in all our thoughts. He may not be able to pick up his baby for a little while, but that does not mean that somebody else cannot pick her up and hand her to him! Your daughter in law does not really need to peel grapes for him (although she may like to do so ), but should be aware that for six weeks or so he is advised not to bend over or do any heavy lifting.

All the best

Andrew

my operation was very similar to Andrew's described above although i felt some substantial pain during the first night while i was still in hospital- nothing unbearable but enough to wake me up until i was given painkillers. after my doctors visit in the morning i went home and slept. pain decreased rapidly until i was on regular ibruprofen. i was very sesitive to light and struggled to watch tv or read... so boredom was my biggest problem...my brother bought me an audio book which was a saviour. i recommend the BBC Radio recordings Blackadder beacuse they are short and hillarious- especially if you have seen the series and can picture the actors...

i tried to go to a meeting at work after 5 days... bad idea,,, mostly due to the effects of the anaesthetic... was comfortable back at work after 2 weeks.
my transplant was very successful- i had stitches out at 9 months and now 1 and half years after graft i have better than 6/6 (when corrected with glasses) 6/9 without correction.
hope it all goes well. let us know

Melissa,

Wishing Simon all the best! I am sure that everything will go well!

I'm thinking that his surgeon is Sheraz Daya if you are going privately to East Grinstead? I went for a DALK with him two years ago and everything went really well. I do not have fantastic vision as loads here post, as I can only see four lines with a lens, but before the op I could only just see a light box and couldn't tolerate a lens!! The reason my vision isn't any better is because I have scarring on my eye which I have always had. It is getting better so I can only hope that it will improve.

The pain after the op was really not bad at all. I woke up the morning after needing some painkillers, but paracetamol the day after that and I was fine. Slightly photo phobic but not too bad. Now all the stitches have been removed and I am playing with contact lenses! It is lovely to have 3D vision when I could only see out of one eye before!!

He just needs to take it easy and not put any strain on his eye, such as by doing any heavy lifting or bending down. Eyes do heal really well and quickly, he will just need to take it easy!

Hope everything goes well, love Claire X x X

Hi i had my surgery six weeks ago today , i was on the table this time six weeks ago actually. it went so well and please tell your son it is totally worth having it done. The surgery is not at all painful in my experience . i dont realy remember that much of the day of the op as morphine was my new best friend but after that i dint request any more painkillers . Its more of a discomfort than a pain. One thiong thsat i was not prepared for though was the drops . he will be using a steriod drop every 2 hours and an antibiotic every four hours . this i found the hardest becasue the nurses used to wake me at 6 in the moring to start the drops and then keep going till 12 in the night so i could not get enought sleep but im sure that is me just been a lazy brat more than anything else.

also maybe tell hinm not to worry about vision that anythign is a bonus afterthe surgery at start but it will get better as time progresses . Make sure you have all the details for the A& E and where to go if he is having any problems. he may not have any problems at all but i think it is much more comforting if you know exactly what and where to go if you do have a concern



best of luck

keep us posted

Optom

Hi Anne,

My best wishes for your son. I haven't been on for sometime. I too have been waiting for 6 mths for my op. I go into hospital next Monday (10th) for my graft, so found the posts here very interesting. I'll pop on over the next few days to see how his doing.

Regards

Linda

Get some decent sunglasses for wearing during the day as the eye can be light sensitive and an eye guard and micropore tape to tape it on with at night for the first few weeks [hospital will give you an eyeguard].

Thanks for the micropore tape tip (that doesn't roll off the tongue). I'm off to check my medicine cabinet. I know I have at least one reel. On the Sun glasses front. A friend was visiting from Australia and had a pair of Fitovers. I had never come across these before. She has kindly sent me a pair which will fit over my distance glasses or reading glasses so they are in my bag ready.

Regards

Linda

Thanks for your replies. Simon had to stay in overnight before his op. He was also the last person down for the op and it was 4 pm in the afternoon before he eventually went. My husband and I then went to the hotel to wait until he came back to the ward. He came back at 8pm. We were told then he would need to lie flat for a week. He complained about the pain straight away and was told his eye had lots of pressure. We were able to stay with him until 9.30 pm. The next morning we arrived at 9 am to find him sat up in bed. He had to have the pressure released from his eye during the night, but apart from that he said he felt well. He saw in Mr Dyer again in morning clinic and I could see his eye on the monitor and you can see all the stitches around the cornea. He then said that Simon would need to lie flat for 24 hours when we got him home and he wants to see him again next Tuesday. We then had to drive 5 hours home. Luckily the traffic wasn't too bad.

All the way home Simon couldn't stand the light. He wore my sunglasses but still he said it was too bright. They only gave him paracetamol and they don't seem to be taking the pain away. He has been lying down all day with the curtains closed and with sunglasses on. We are hoping he will start to feel better soon. At the moment I don't think he is up to doing too much anyway. I am off on holiday tomorrow for a week, but I do know his wife is going to come to these boards. I am taking a computer with me so will keep checking. I am going to phone Simon every day to see how he is getting on. Thanks again for the well wishes.

Annie

Keeping Simon, yourself and your hubby n family in my thoughts n prayers
Lea
xox