Corneal Graft

[jayuk]

Hi all

Thought Id give an update to my situ

Eye has really calmed down now..slightly red in the morning but then it goes. I now rely on the grafted eye when I have no lenses in!....I still have blur but thats expected but its alot better then few weeks ago.

However my other eye, I THINK, has increased in KC I beleive and I have a slight feeling the cone MAY be touching my Scleral Lens. Had a appt a MEH few days before graft but foned them 10 days prior to cancel and and explained why....was told another one can be issued.......great I thoought.....didnt recieve anythng............foned them Thursday and guess what!....Noone noted the message, I was put down as NOT Attended.......and then was offered another appointment in October..........at my shock I was told they are "short staffed".........my thoughts were "So Ill just not work till October shall I" but in all honesty I really cant be asked with Admin staff as its not not there problem and they dont understand why we have a problem with that....and in all honesty I doubt they really care!

Anyway. headed over to Optician got my left eye checked for a Rose K2 again and got it yesterday....not the best solution as I like the comfort of the Scleral..BUT I do get better vision from a Rose K.....trade off I guess!!!

Anyway..........we did an over refraction with my grafted eye.....and was srprised to get 6\/9 and 6/12......and I was over the moon..........so we ordered a pair for extremely light use.........clearly my vision in the grafted eye changed every few days thus the glasses could be useless in a matter of days..........was told the cost of changing them would be free to me.............now thats what I call Understanding and Service.......so he kinda made my day in a way....not from a cost perspective but from a Patient understanding.....perspective!

Have the graft being checked in two weeks....so will update then!

J

[Sweet]

Edited by Sweet

[jayuk]

Another appt today...now 6 weeks post op.

Eye is now looking really good..cant even tell I have had the Op done. Eye pressure well within the range..mine was 12 today.

Vision, not that good for distance today it appears that I am now Myopic which I beleive is short sighted......so couldnt only get the top three letters of the chart.

The graft itself is excellent. Healing is really good and its settled well. Eye drops have been reduced to four drops per day for Maxidex and 4 for Chloramphenical.....

Will be able to get a stable refraction in about 3 months so I am told.

Two weeks post op I was -10 and today I was +3; which is an Enourmous difference!....Consultant recons it MAY settle close to 0.

So all looking good....cornea nice a clear and attached and stiches are in place nice and firm. I may not have any removed as was told today as it may just be easier leaving them in due to my "fighting" of when my eyes are touched but it will be reaccessed each time I visit.

[Ali Akay]

Jayuk
Is your consultant recommending PKP or DALK ?I am not suggesting one is necessarily better than the other but I know there's a lot of interest in DALK due to reduced risk of rejection (in theory) but there are pros and cons like most things? I am curious to know if your research showed preference towards one or the other amongst UK corneal surgeons

[jayuk]

Ali

I had PK, as I had severe central scarring after a severe case of Hydrops. Thus full PK was my ONLY option; as there is NO procedure/treatment to remove corneal scarring at that level.

Lamellar grafts are becoming popular and was talking about to me, but my case was a straight forward full PK.

[Ali Akay]

Hi Jayuk
Sorry,I had lost track of the fact that you had had hydrops.It is actually possible to have DALK after hydrops if scarring is not much, but, as you say, usually scarring is too deep to allow this and full thickness graft is needed

[Pete B]

Glad to hear its all going well.I`m just over a month post op now,and I`m really happy.
Got an appointment at Moorfields tomorow morning,for check up and refraction,I`ll let you know how I get on.

Best Regards Pete

[jayuk]

Just thought Id add an update!

I was probably the ONLY person who was looking forward to going into Central London on the train yesterday!.....solely for my 11 week post op checkup!

Well, things are looking good still. Clear cornea, slight swelling still around one of the sides of the graft where its attached to my cornea.

Vision is very blurry as can be expected, Pin Hole is 6/9 - without Pin hole cant even get the top letter.

A day post op had 11 diopters, now its gone down to 9 diopters. I am surprisingly Long Sighted which is rare post corneal transplant.......

Another Appt in 8 weeks, and we are looking to remove some stiche s to bring down the astigmatism.

[ChrisK]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the updates, I am enjoying reading how you progress as it's giving me a better idea of what I can expect to go through after my graft.

May I ask what were your major reasons for going private? Were they a simple matter of speed of transplant and also better service? Or did you research show that the private specialists perform better?

I would love to go private but after just finishing uni I don't think I could possibly afford any more debt.

[jayuk]

Hi ChrisK

To answer your questions...........

May I ask what were your major reasons for going private?

Basically, I was at a stage where my left eye had started to progress with KC (it was already advanced). My right eye (now operated) had Hydrops about a 1.5 years prior and I couldnt get any decent credible vision with correction (due to a massive scar in the centre of the cornea). When I went to Moorefields I was given an appt for 7 months time, and that was just an initial appt to access whether I needed a graft. I was then told that it could take another 3-8 months for donor material. So in essense I would have had my op March of 2006. Also, I feel that a Corneal Graft is a very unforgiving operation. Thus experience and credibility counts, thus I narrowed it down to about 3-4 consultants whom had extensive experience and had excellent industry recognition (there are many more btw in UK/Europe with excellent reps on Corneal Transplants)

Clearly, there is another side to a grafts' success and thats Rejection!...thats beyond the control of any consultant and can only be contained on an individual case.


Were they a simple matter of speed of transplant and also better service?

Oh defintely. As reflected in my earlier posts; from the time I was seen; I could have had the op performed within 10 days!!. However I chose to wait I think it was 3.5 weeks.....QOS was also excellent from where it was performed, to the people who looked after me, to even now - the post op phase. (however thats not to say the staff under NHS are bad or wouldnt have done a "as good" job). I wanted this operation to be catered around me; rather than me around the time slots of the NHS.


Or did you research show that the private specialists perform better?

No, the very same consultants who I saw perform work on the NHS. However, the benefit you have with Private is that you can choose who does it. I wanted to select who did mine; thus I paid and got excellent pre and post operative care; tailored around me.

More to then point, KC is a type of condition that needs attention very fast; albeit a lens change or a post op visit.

To give you an example; I had a scare about 4 weeks back where I noticed a small white mark in the centre of the graft. I woke up one Sunday morning and thought Id give it another 60 mins. Than I called my Eye Department; within 25 mins the Consultant who performed my Operation called me on a Sunday!.......now I know from my 10 years experience with KC that would NOT have happened if I went the "usual" route; due to the way in which delivery of treatment is presented.

My sole reason for going private, was due to the fact that this was my vision, and I couldnt risk not getting the best attention when I needed it.

Do I think the NHS is bad or beloew par? Not at all! Its serves a purpose..its just with my condition it was not serving the purpose to how I would have liked it to.