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Eye sore after sutures removed

Posted: Fri 27 Aug 2010 4:33 am
by craigthornton
Yesterday I was seen at my eye hospital and had four sutures removed from my 3.5 year old graft. This was in the late afternoon.

This morning my eye is very tender and watery, the eyelid a bit puffy and there is some redness, though still plenty of normal white visible.

Is this normal? From Googling, there are usually around 16 sutures in a graft, so guess having a 1/4 of the them taken out at once is quite invasive and likely to anger my eye!

I have three days suppky of 0.5% CPL; guess this is Chloramphenicol and will help the inflammation. I am a bit surprised as other times I have been given 4 weeks supply when only having one stitch out! But I suppose opinions differ and there is no wrong or right answer.

Some of you long-time members may remember I had my graft in Dec 2006 but then in a freak accident in July 2007 I partially awoke in a dream state and my left hand formed a fist and knocked the graft eye so hard the lens part of my eye came out. The graft was saved but the vision rubbish now due to the lens missing. I have had a contact lens to help but just lately not been able to wear it for more than a day without discomfort for several days after! So yesterday I was discussing a lens implant. They are going to remove my sutures in stages and said there are different options available to correct my vision as they are removed, but ultimately I can still have the standard implant if I want if these other options aren't available.

This was discussed with the chief consultant through his assistant (the chief himself got caught up in an emergency case) so I am trying to find out today what these other options might be. Maybe just different types of implants? Can't see what else it could be.

Re: Eye sore after sutures removed

Posted: Fri 27 Aug 2010 9:38 am
by Anne Klepacz
Hello Craig - good to see you here again. A bit of soreness after suture removal is normal. But having said that, if things don't improve by tomorrow do contact (or go to) the hospital. Better safe than sorry is my attitude to anything to do with grafts!
And I hope you get some more information on what your future options are soon. Some kind of lens implant seems a logical option, but there are so many new developments now that maybe there's something else amazing that can help.
All the very best
Anne

Re: Eye sore after sutures removed

Posted: Fri 27 Aug 2010 1:10 pm
by craigthornton
Well I got the news quicker than I thought.

The plan is to take all the remaining sutures out in stages (can't take them all out in one go to avoid risking rejection, plus it would be even sorer than I feel today!)

Then the cornea is going to be allowed to "rest" to determine its final shape. After that I can have a lens implant if I want, I may need something else implanting if my astigmatism is high, but by then there could be one lens that does both jobs because new lens are being developed almost every month. Or I can try a contact lens again.

I was managing ok with a contact lens last year, but this year has been a right pain, probably because I've had a few broken sutures which mean a few weeks off each time not wearing the contact.

Re: Eye sore after sutures removed

Posted: Mon 30 Aug 2010 9:59 am
by Sweet
Craig,

Sorry to hear how sore your eye is after having some stitches removed. This is very common and makes sense. Pulling your eye about to remove foreign bodies isn't normal!! LOL!! really hoping it settles down soon.

Great news on a lens being fitted! By the time all your stitches are removed they will be able to tell what you eye is like when well rested.

Best of luck with it! Love Claire X x X

Re: Eye sore after sutures removed

Posted: Mon 30 Aug 2010 10:38 am
by craigthornton
Today's the first day it is feeling just a bit sore rather than a lot so must be healing!

I guess I have to remember when I have had stitches out before they were loose ones so by their very nature easy to remove. This time it was removing fixed stitches which had to be "unpicked" for want of a better word so more trauma for the eye.

I am pleased a goal is in sight for me (no pun intended!) as the right eye has made me quite down after the accident because, uncorrected, my brain can't join the left and right images together so it's a jumbled mess.

Luckily I am self-employed working from home so can put in the hours when suits me and rest my eyes accordingly. It's quite a coincidence I started my business part-time a few months before the accident, must have had a warning subconsciously what was going to happen lol. I now run it full-time.

Re: Eye sore after sutures removed

Posted: Tue 31 Aug 2010 11:10 pm
by rosemary johnson
Hi - hope the soreness is rapidly wearing off.
My eye had all the stitches removed in May - it was a single 16 point running stitch, so when it broke, they had to take the lot out.
THe main cause of soreness, though was 1. the loose end rubbing when it broke - twice, as the first time, they just cut the loose end off and some more worked fre. and 2. they gave me a stronger antibiotic than chloramphenical, and after the eye got redder and redder over the next few days as I put more drops I , I concluded I was allergic to the new drops and went back to the chloramphenical after all and it was suddenly much better.
I guess wihtout that hiatus, it would have been quite sore from the removal process for about a day.
As for implanted lenses - there are certainly quite a few different types.
Note: the normal "general rule" is to give people "distance vision" implanted lenses, and then they have to wear reading glasses. It is possible to have "near" or "mid-range" implanted lenses - if you do a lot of computer work, for example. But then you'd be shortsighted and have to ear glasses for distance vision when out an dabout.
Most people reckon having a implant for distance and wearing reading glasses is the best option - and one can get reading glasses cheaply in supermarkets!!! - but it isn't necessarily so if you don't want that.
Good luck with it all
Roseamry