I have a new cornea

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Helen G
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Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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I have a new cornea

Postby Helen G » Tue 22 Feb 2011 7:24 pm

Been a while since I posted, and alot of things happened... I had intacts in my left eye almost a year ago, which although wasnt a failure hasnt given me the vision I hoped for (about 4 lines on eye test with alot of ghosting).

Then in November the vision in my right eye which had been slowly decreasing suddenly went cloudy (grafted 17 yrs ago) despite hourly steroid drops etc the drs decided it had failed due to old age and put me on the waiting list for a new graft in June.

Last week I got a call to ask if I could go in at short notice, which I gladly accepted. I had my graft friday morning (PK or full thickness) and went home 4 hours later. Its now 4 days since graft and im amazed at how good it is. I havent needed paracetamol since saturday, the eye looks 'normal' no redness or swelling etc, and is open all day, with no light sensitivity so far. I can see a bit, its blurry and looks a bit underwater ish, im guessing the bandage lens doesnt help much, but can easily count fingers, infact the vision isnt significantly worse than before... just a different kind of blurry!

I know it will take a long time for vision to settle and they is a high chance of setbacks, but so far so good, I feel very lucky and will take the most care of this one as I can.

Good luck to anyone else in the same situation

Helen

GrandPaClanger
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby GrandPaClanger » Tue 22 Feb 2011 9:26 pm

Hi Helen

Good news indeed. Thanks for the post nice to hear something posative. i am having the same done May. So will be interested to hear how you get on .

I met the surgeon yesterday and he mentioned going home the same day which took me my surprise. i assume you had a general anaesthetic ?

Ian

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Andrew MacLean
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby Andrew MacLean » Wed 23 Feb 2011 7:04 am

helen

Congratulations! Every good wish with your recovery.

Andrew
Andrew MacLean

stevematic
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby stevematic » Wed 23 Feb 2011 7:51 am

Great news for you Helen!

I wish you the best in your recovery.

GrandPaClanger
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Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby GrandPaClanger » Wed 23 Feb 2011 10:08 am

Hi Helen

Was it Mr Prydal who did your Op It's him who I am seeing Top fella !

Helen G
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Posts: 41
Joined: Mon 27 Apr 2009 7:50 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby Helen G » Wed 23 Feb 2011 10:18 am

GrandPaClanger wrote:Hi Helen

I met the surgeon yesterday and he mentioned going home the same day which took me my surprise. i assume you had a general anaesthetic ?

Ian


Yes I had a general anaesthetic, I think the operation took around 3 hours, not sure as I was asleep :P
I slept for a couple of hours after returning to the the ward, then drip was taken down and I had a sandwich and cup of tea then was sent home with my drops and instructions etc. I was a bit drowsy the rest of the day, and pain was manageable with paracetamol & ibuprofen. I was glad to be home with a talking book and my own bed.

If I remember right you are under the same hospital as me? LRI consultant mr prydal

I have to admit to only being excited when I went in for the operation, I really wasn't afraid of anything, the prospect of getting my vision back was all I was focused on. I feel so lucky that someone gave me a chance to see well again.

Teresa D
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby Teresa D » Wed 23 Feb 2011 6:14 pm

Helen,

It's lovely to read such a positive post! So pleased to hear that everything's going well so far and do please keep us posted.

Teresa :D

Helen G
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Joined: Mon 27 Apr 2009 7:50 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby Helen G » Fri 25 Feb 2011 4:13 pm

Had my 1st follow up appointment (6 days post graft) everything was fine, I had not realised I didnt even have a bandage lens !!! Vision is finger counting, but got 6 lines with pin hole which they say gives an idea of potential vision.

Also picked up a lens for my left (intact) eye, not convinced by the fit, it seems to move and therefore lose vision every time i blink, the dr said she thought it wasnt as stable as it could be and would let me try it for a month and then maybe try a larger lens if it was still the same.

It was quite difficult walking thro the city to appointment, had to be guided alot by my husband, I guess vision seems not so bad when indoors.

Still everything is going well, gotta stay patient :D

Teresa D
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Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby Teresa D » Fri 04 Mar 2011 3:58 pm

I've found that can be the hardest part .......... being patient, I mean! :)

Helen G
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Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
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Re: I have a new cornea

Postby Helen G » Fri 18 Mar 2011 9:15 pm

Its now a month since transplant and everything seems fine with that eye, cant wait to get on with doing more (decorating gardening etc) but waiting for the all clear from the dr, dont want to risk any damage at all.

My left eye isnt so good, had to go back to the hospital as it was always sticky when wearing my new lens (not sticky if i left it out) They found the lens to be covered in white spots, but couldn't remove the spots with any cleaners, so thought wasn't protein. Seemed odd considering the lens was a week old, so has been sent back to the lab for testing to find out what it is. The optom also found a problem with my lower lid, a gland (?) is blocked, they want me to hold a hot cloth over my eye and massage it 2x a day. I am just hoping this is not going to stop me being able to wear lenses. I desperately want to get enough vision to go out confidently, cant achieve that with glasses, otherwise I just have to wait until my graft recovers which is a long time to be so dependant.

Got appointments next week so hope some of this gets resolved. Anyone had experience of the spots on lens or blocked gland thing?


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