after transplant?

[rena mcintyre]

my corea transplant was July 27th,2005 and now I see threw a transparent white balloon. The light must be right or I can't see out of that eye. I see double sometimes when I watch t.v. will this cloudy disappear? any help I will appreciate. thanks rena

[John Smith]

Hello Rena,

I'm a little confused about "transparent" and "white". If the cornea is going cloudy (white) then that could be a sign of rejection, and you should get yourself seen asap. If it's transparent and the shape is odd, then that's fairly normal, in my case lasting about 3 months post-op.

Make sure that your consultant is aware of your concerns, and if you feel that the shape has changed since you were last seen, make sure you get seen again.

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

[rena mcintyre]

I see from inside my left eye but when I look threw it, I see semi-white web. What I do see is clear threw the white web. And I see better about 5p.m. and seeing double don't happen all the time. thank you for your advise! Rena

[Rob Armstrong]

I think I know what you mean, immediately following my graft I was told my new cornea was milky white, although this quickly faded towards the edges in the following weeks, leaving a milky halo which took longer to totally disappear.

I too saw significantly better as the day went on - I used to be really blurry in the mornings but much better late at night. I even changed my routine to accomodate this, shaving last thing at night etc!

I was told at the hospital that your cornea changes shape slightly while you are asleep, as it is starved of oxygen while your eyes are closed. It gradually returns to its "normal" shape as the day progresses. Apparently it affects everyone, but the effect is more pronounced because of your situation.

Do you notice the milky "web" to your vision more indoors or in darker environments? I used to get a milky patch at the top of my vision in these circumstances, apparently its due to the fact that your pupil enlarges, encroaching on the milky edges of your graft.

If your whole graft is still milky, in fact if you have any concerns whatsoever, get it checked out at the hospital ASAP.

Rob.

[jayuk]

Rob

I didnt know this

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I was told at the hospital that your cornea changes shape slightly while you are asleep, as it is starved of oxygen while your eyes are closed. It gradually returns to its "normal" shape as the day progresses. Apparently it affects everyone, but the effect is more pronounced because of your situation.

--

Thats the new thing Ive learnt when adhering to "we learn things everyday!"...that actually answers alot of things during the primary stages of the tranplant when you wake up, and you can feel the stiching more possibly due to the shape change yet after an hour or two it dissapears!....

Thanks!...........

[Sweet]

LOL i didn't know that either, but it does make a lot of sense! Strange things do happen when we are sleeping eh? LOL

Sweet

[Lynn White]

ok ... tech info here lol....

during the waking hours.... your cornea absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere. When you sleep.. it absorbs oxygen from the capillaries from the inside of your lids, which is pretty minimal.

So.... if your oxygen requirements are high... then the oxygen it gets at night is not enough.Thus.... the cornea becomes starved of oxygen and it goes hazily milky.

The cornea is transparant because the corneal fibres are organised in strict horizontal and vertical fibres. When it becomes waterlogged under stress.. the fibres become randomly placed.. which reflects light and therefore makes the cornea look milky - just like the whites of your eyes.

Sooooooooo.... when you sleep, the cornea becomes more waterlogged - especially after a graft as its more vulnerable. As you wander round during the day, the cornea exchanges oxygen etc with the atmosphere and gets better - so the cornea clears up. It is fine until you sleep when the whole pattern starts again.

Hope this helps!!

Lynn

[Rob Armstrong]

Which would also explain why many people find it necessary to be awake for an hour or so before they can successfully insert their lenses.

The "waterlogging" would also make a lot of sense to me as when I wake up totally parched after a good night out my vision is fantastic!

(Not a recommendation for improving vision by the way! The trade-off is dry, sore, red eyes).

Guess the waterlogging doesn't occur to such an extent due to being dehydrated and the lack of sleep.

Rob.

[Sweet]

Ha, yea that does make sense, and i do see better as the day goes on, thanks for that. I do find as well that when i don't sleep much i get much better vision so while i didn't know it technically i was aware that sleeping didn't help! LOL

Rob i would love to say i don't know what you mean, hehe, but yea been there done that and i do see better after a night out lmao!

Sweet