Just returned from my post operative visit with the eye surgeon.
It was an interesting day yesterday! The surgical center moved up the surgery to 1:45 in the afternoon, so it was a long wait. I told them I did not want any anesthesia, But the anesthesiologist needed a new boat, so he insisted on "just relaxing me a bit". The last thing I remember is being wheeled into the operating room, and looking up at the ceiling. The next thing I knew, I was in a wheel chair being wheeled out of the building. I missed the whole damned show!
Initially my vision through the operated eye, was poor. To give an idea it was like looking at the world through a white handkerchief. By around 7:00PM the dilation and numbing drops started to wear off and improvement in my vision began to happen rapidly. By about 10:00PM there were significant changes every 15 minutes. One thing I noticed is the change in color perception between my two eyes. I picked up the newspaper last night to see if I could read it. The paper itself looked much whiter through the right eye, than as seen through unoperated left eye, which looked yellowish like old parchment. I estimate the difference in color temperature at about 2000 degrees Kelvin. All colors are also brighter and much more vivid.
This morning they measured my vision and found the unassisted vision in my right (operated) eye was about 20/35, It had been 20/50 without glasses before the surgery. He examined the eye and said everything looked perfect, and that my vision would continue to improve as the swelling at the incision site and the capsule the lens is inserted into goes down. By tomorrow morning the sharpness of vision in that eye should be much better yet, and will continue to gradually improve for four weeks, although most of the improvement is in the first 48 hours.
He scheduled surgery for the left eye tentatively for next Wednesday, pending the results of another followup examination next Monday. I also made my doctor promise to tie up the anesthesiologist, and lock him in a closet for my next surgery.
Jeez, Shelley! Take the damn anesthesia. It's as much for them as it is for you. They don't want any untoward and involuntary twitches or spasms, and the physician doesn't want to take off the end of your nose as a result of these things! Just DO it!
Very awesome to hear that, Shelly One of the things I dread losing with time are my senses. Specially my hearing and sight. Very good to hear this came out so well for you!
#4, "RE: The Eyes have it." In response to Shelly (Reply # 0) Thu Nov-29-07 05:23 PM by Ethan
I'm looking forward to your new picture without the glasses. After you get your other one fixed I want to hear about how the Hyades looks. Will you look better?
It's good to hear the good news.
Ethan
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Meade.
"We must become the change we want to see in the world" -- Mohandas Gandhi.
#5, "RE: The Eyes have it." In response to ablib (Reply # 2) Thu Nov-29-07 05:14 PM by npmcl
I was awake throughout both ops on my eyes, I had no option for a general anaesthetic. If I remember correctly my head was held in some sort of frame so that I couldn't move it then anaesthetic drops were put in the eye followed a little later by an injection (which I couldn't feel) and thereafter I couldn't move the eye. My face was covered by a sheet with a cut-out over the eye to be operated on and the eyelids were held back by some sort of very small clamp. Prior to the operation I could see the very bright light above me but once it started all became blurred and obviously the other eye was covered by the sheet. I felt no pain nor did anything happen that was in anyway frightening. I thought that the ultra-sound noise seemed like that of a snake-charmer's instrument and said so to the surgeon and he laughed, on reflection it probably wasn't a good idea to make the him laugh while operating.
I would think that Shelly would find it very interesting and I'm glad that it's all gone well.
#6, "RE: The Eyes have it." In response to npmcl (Reply # 5) Thu Nov-29-07 05:31 PM by ablib
Quote:
then anesthetic drops were put in the eye followed a little later by an injection
Well to me that is a little different from absolutely no anesthesia. However, I assumed Shelly to mean that he wanted to be awake but have the local paralytics like you received.
Actually. the only reason for the anesthesia is to relax a patient with any anxiety. Anxiety is an emotion unknown to me, been through too much in my life to fret about minor surgery.
There is no pain involved in the procedure at all, they put drops in your eye that make it numb. In fact he came into the preparation room while I was waiting to be taken to the operating room, and made some angle measurements for my astigmatism, and then proceeded to take a felt tip marker out of his pocket and drew the axis right on my eyeball. I felt nothing.
Normally his patients are fully awake during surgery, and he carries on a running conversation explaining everything he does.
Ooookay, fine. You quite clearly know more about this procedure than I do. But being "without anxiety?" Uhhh, OK, but that's a state that I am unfamiliar with. I have anxiety attacks going to the grocery store. Well, OK, not REALLY, but you get my drift. I'm a worrier. I had a triple bypass done about 7 years ago, and my MD was so worried about my mental state that he kept me doped up from Friday (the day of diagnosis and the "uh oh" decision) until Monday morning, the day of the procedure. My wife took all the anxiety on my behalf (bless her). If I had the prospect of people (begin hyperbole) sticking knives in my eyes (end hyperbole) I would be screaming in fear. And this from a guy who served in combat in Vietnam. Ah, well. I'm glad you are OK. Long may you prosper.
I'm definitely a worrier and can suffer from anxiety but as you can see from my post 5 there is absolutely nothing to worry about, I had complete confidence in my surgeon, one of the best in the country. He talked to me throughout the procedure and I found it all very interesting. The point to remember is that your eye can feel nothing, it can't move and once the op starts it can't see anything either.
