Help, please!

[russell_anderson]

I've been short-sighted and suffered from astigmatism for most of my life. I have used spectacles since the age of 12 or 13. I wore contact lens for playing football but never really liked them and used them only for sport. I'm now 66 years old and over the last couple of years have thought that my vision is not quite right even though when I took tests I was being told my sight wasn't deteriorationg. Eventually the optician said that I had cataracts and sent me to the hospital for an examination to have them removed by lasar. To my surprised I was told after the examination that it was not a cataract problem but a cornea problem! In fact, the specialist (who only performed cataract operations) told me that my corneas were like those of a 100 year old!!! My doctor has asked me if I want to go to the local hospital to arrage for a cornea transplant. I'm very nervous about this although until I see the specialist I don't know the extent of what I will need doing. From what I've read on here it may be possible that I won't need a full transplant. Are there any alternatives to a transplant? Laser or lens of some kind? What are the dependencies for any alternatives? Any information would be appreciated.

[Anne Klepacz]

Hello Russell and welcome to the forum,
Have you been told that the reason for your transplant is that you have keratoconus? There are a number of different conditions of the cornea for which a transplant may be recommended, so without knowing whether yours is for KC, it's hard to know whether there might be alternatives or what they might be. Whether a transplant is partial or full thickness depends on how thin the cornea is, and how much scarring there is on the cornea. As you'll have seen from some of the recent posts from people who have had tranplants in the last couple months, the experience is not nearly as bad as they feared!
Do tell us more about your particular case - and, of course, ask as many questions as you can when you see the specialist!
All the best
Anne

[russell_anderson]

Hello Anne. Thanks for the reply. All I know is that the specialist I saw previously just said my corneas had degenerated. I suppose I'll find out a lot more if and when I meet the specialist who would do any operation. I'll post more details when I decide to go back to the doctor's and make an appointment. After reading information on here I can relate to several things I've seen e.g. a big difference in vision according to the differing degrees of light, distinguishing images clearly, huge halos on streetlights at night.

[Anne Klepacz]

All the best, Russell, and let us know how you get on.
Anne

[Lynn White]

Russell,

I am an optometrist and from what you say, I do not think you have the same condition as the members of this forum. It sounds to me as if you have a form of corneal dystrophy. This is when the cells in the cornea are not functioning properly and either the cornea becomes waterlogged or scarred. The haloes you experience are due to these kind of issues, not the keratoconus experienced by people here. For that reason, the graft options will not be the same either.

So before you get sidetracked looking at procedures that may not be relevant to you personally, you really need to revisit your doctor ad ask him/her to explain your condition to you properly. The hospital should at least have identified the condition and even if the doctor has little experience in this area, you should at least then be able to search for more information and alternative treatments, if they are available. There is also the alternative of seeking a private consultation with an ophthalmologist to get a second opinion.

Lynn

[russell_anderson]

Lynn,
Thank you for your reply. I went to my doctor today to book an appointment with a consultant and you were spot on with your diagnosis.
According to his notes from my earlier visit when I thought I had cataracts (over 2 years ago!), I was diagnosed with corneal dystrophy.
I guess this means I am an imposter on this forum!
The internet tells me there are several different forms of corneal dystrophy so I guess I won't find out until I get an appointment at the hospital!
Russell

[russell_anderson]

Hello Everybody. A long time has elapsed since I last posted but things have started to happen. I had further tests on the NHS and according to my doctor's notes I was diagnosed as having Cataracts, Fuchs Dystrophy and severe Astigmatism! I was then scheduled to have an appointment at the local hospital. However, before the appointment date, my job was outsourced to a company with free Health Insurance for employees which allowed pre-existing conditions under the policy! After discussions with my doctor, I cancelled the NHS appointment and went down the private route via my health insurance. I did this mainly because one of the consultants at the private hospital had been highly recommended by 2 people. My appointment was earlier this week and after many tests the consultant told me that he believed most of my problems would be cured by a cataract operation to insert a new lens. He said that he believed that the Fuchs Dystrophy was not severe enough to need surgery but if it deteriorated it could be corrected by DSEK as opposed to a complete corneal transplant. He gave me the option of inserting a toric lens instead of a monofocal lens which he said would improve the astigmatism to a great extent although not completely erase it. I'm tempted to have this done although it cannot be done via the medical insurance (or on the NHS) and seems very expensive to me. It would cost me £1200 per eye for a toric lens instead of a monofocal plus a small proportion of the consultant's fee so overall I'm talking of around £2600. I've been reading a lot on the web over the last few days and am still uncertain about how successfully this would combat the astigmatism. Does anyone have any experience of this type of procedure? Any information would be useful!

[Anne Klepacz]

Hi Russell
Looks like you and Grandpaclanger need to talk to each other! And if you both put 'toric lens' or 'toric lens implant' into the search engine on this forum, you'll find a few people who have had this done recently.
All the best
Anne

[russell_anderson]

Hi Russell
Looks like you and Grandpaclanger need to talk to each other! And if you both put 'toric lens' or 'toric lens implant' into the search engine on this forum, you'll find a few people who have had this done recently.
All the best
Anne

Thanks, Anne.

[Anne Klepacz]

All the best with your operations, Russell. And it's good to know that your Fuchs Dystrophy doesn't need surgery. Have you found the FuchsFriendsUK site at www.fuchs-dystrophy.org.uk for more information about that condition? And do let us know how you get on.
Anne