7wks Update Pic

[Knight]

Finally fixed my other camera, still not as good as I wanted but this time you can see the stitches, which by the way are getting more and more difficult to see at all under normal light and conditions...



Because it's nearly impossible to tell at this stage where the actual graft starts and ends I've outlined it in red ... I had to look myself in the mirror a few times before placing the circle in the right place but you can just make out the little ridges that the white-light window relflection picks out ... so that was a useful guide ...

[GarethB]

Not easy when you have dark eyes, blue/grey eyes this shows up a whole lot better.

Great pics though.

[Paul Osborne]

oooh excellent stuff.

Whats your vision like with the grafted eye now?

Paul

[Knight]

When I had it tested at the Corneal Clinic, 5 weeks ago it came out as 6/36, my 2nd visit is next week, so I'll be able to give a more accurate report then.
I am seeing a bit clearer now thou, it's more to do with what I could see has sharpened up than getting any farther distance with my eyesight. I think at a push I could make up to 6/18 but it would be a bit of a strain. Generally images are much less confused and I can read text Times New Roman 20pt font size on a screen resolution of 1280x1024 from approximately 30cm away with much ease.
I have begun to notice I need to start now practicing some orthoptic exercises again because my left graft eye has gotten a little lazy for general reading purposes and sometimes I get double vision when watching TV.
Right now the vision is as if I am wearing the wrong lens everything has a slight blur to it, although compared to 5 weeks ago this is a marked improvement but what I have noticed at around 20 meters away an abrupt invisible barrier of total blurred/unfocused images! Once that line is crossed I can't make anything out and it's really that sudden, from a general line of good eyesight up to that point, no slow progression just, wham, can't make anything out beyond that certain distance.
Otherwise, how it was before this I'll take and be happy with.

[jayuk]

Nice pics! eye is looking good!....Ull probably wont even see the sutures in the next 4 odd weeks

[Knight]

Update. Well, just adding to this, rather than starting a new thread.

I had a review there on Thursday (30th March). Generally all went well. I had to have a loose stitch removed. For the last two weeks I had been suffering some irritation and major discomfort (that I just put up with and tolerated) but there was tension in my eye, although the IOP remained well within normal levels. I'm still getting a tightness within my eye that's causing me headaches and has already triggered a bout of migraines but since having the stitch removed it hasn't felt nearly as bad.
Anyway, my eyesight is up to 6/24, still not very sharp and even via pinhole I can't see more than 6/24. While I waited to see my surgeon (prior to having the stitch removed) I saw my ophthalmologist who mapped both eyes and tested my grafted (left eye) refraction and lens corrections to determine at this stage if wearing spectacles was an option. So far it doesn't seem to be possible as all it did was make the top letter at 6/60 a little sharper. Although I have been told, it's difficult at this stage with stitches in but the odds are I'll just be going back to wearing a lens in that eye - which is what I'd prefer because I don't like wearing specs.
I lost the notes I took while at the clinic, but hopefully I have this correct from memory: Left eye is 5.2cyl and my right is 7.8cyl but don't quote me as I may have that wrong, I'll get the correct details sometime next week. So there is hope, in that also, judging from the map results, actually the shape of my grafted left eye is better than my right (I can see a comfortable 6/6 in my right eye corrected by an RGP) and being of a stable shape (ie no KC) a lens fit will be good and I should have better eyesight in my left eye once I can start wearing a lens - the whole idea that I could have better than 6/6 shocked me but my surgeon is very confident that that will be the case and once this all settles I might be able to wear a regular soft contact lens to reach 6/5 or a sharper 6/6.
Also the minor abrasion I had within 24 hours post op has heal completely, the wrinkles that were present 2 weeks post op have smoothed out entirely and there is little to no staining or other post op concerns.
I am to now significantly reduce my eye drops down to just twice a day for 4 wks, then once a day for 4 wks upon which in two months time I am to go back and have all my stitches removed. It will probably be another month after that when I can start fitting for spectacles or lenses. We'll see, but so far, my eye has healed better than expected and I can see better than I could have hoped for. Since I'm only two months or so into the graft post op, I really can't complain, despite the tension and occasional ache that I am getting I'm happy to put up with it since I can see a lot better than it was prior to the graft, and with the projections that it will get even better I can only relax and judge so far, it has been a resounding success.

[Per]

Still very fast recovery and recent stitch removal. Nice to hear news from you again. All the best !

[jayuk]

Knight

Your recovery is amazing..and I really hope that things continue like this...amazed that there even talking soft lenses already!!!

J

[Andrew MacLean]

Your graft is looking good.

I'd love to be allowed to wear a lens in my graft eye, but I think that they are a bit anxious about possible damage.

You are looking at better than 6/6! wow.

All the best

Andrew

[Knight]

Yeah, I was amazed with the level of my eyesight not long after I had stopped taking the mydrilate then when it was confirmed 2 wks post op at 6/36 it had surprised my surgeon because he had expected at that stage to only be 'finger counting' and so far is impressed with how the whole procedure is progressing. But like I said above, each visit to the clinic things seem to leap forward based on what I had been expecting and when he went through the specifics and details he was very confident that once I get all the stitches out I'll have better eyesight in my left over my right (the right being my best eye/sight) both equally compared unaided with both lenses out and aided with both lenses in which has been tremendous news for me considering I've always (until I was forced to adapt) favoured my left eye.

I have asked if the progress I've made was expected, I got a flat no, so far the results have surprised my surgeon, even my ophthalmologist, since the KC in my left had been so advanced and my cornea so thin DALK was extremely questionable right up until the layers were separated so I suppose anything has been a bonus. At the moment though I am wondering how much of an impact the supplements I'm taking are having on my recovery as I specifically picked ones that would help target tissue repair, my immune system, stabilise cell membranes and my general health ... I suppose I can only guess but I have been taking the supplements daily about a week before the operation and since I forget stuff rather easily I'm surprised I've yet to miss a day taking them...
Oh the other thing I've noticed, thankfully, is that, in the last week the flickering in my sight has left and since having a stitch removed my eye feels generally smoother and less like I'm wearing a contact lens.