Can I get a retinal doctor's opinion?

seekeroftruth

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
I need a medical expert opinion.... An expert retinal surgeon is what I need....

I had surgery on my eye for a retinal detachment. Then I left the surgery... and went home.... I live about 500' in elevation higher than the place where I had my surgery.... and I had a C3F8 tamponade. Is it possible or probable that the IOP elevation due to the tamponade expansion caused the "ruffle" I suffered?

Also... after this happened.... I had the ruffle repaired and he used Adato 1000 oil... which worked to save the eye but had to be removed... so when it was removed the doctor injected another C3F8 tamponade.... and I went home again.... [still didn't know about the elevation change] with orders "no positioning". When I got to the follow-up appointment the following morning.... the bubble was pushing on the pupil. My post op orders were immediately changed to "position". Is it possible or probable that the "no positioning" order caused the bubble to get lodged at the pupil?

The fourth and final surgery.... he injected Adato 5000 oil and removed my lens. He also removed a white cataract caused by the steroid drops that I had to do through the four surgeries. According to Baush and Laumb, Adato 5000 SIL OL is subject to emulsification. Will I more surgery to have the oil removed in the future? How likely is it that the oil will emulsify?

I would appreciate your response.... I'm old and poor and trying to figure out what happened. I followed all the instructions and still wound up blind.

TIA
:coffee:
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Becky, where are you living now? State will do, you know not to put your address or anything on here.

It's unlikely there is a retinal surgeon on here, so you'll probably have to call one local. Hope this gets resolved for you!
 
black dog

black dog

Free America
kom526 said:
www.hopkinsmedicine.org

The Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute

www.hopkinsmedicine.org www.hopkinsmedicine.org
Click to expand...
Unbelievable Place, Dr Guyton? Did strabismus surgery on my son when he was little.

While waiting drs would come out and talk to familys every few min in the waiting room.
Well we took your husbands eye out and repaired what so and so F'ed up and he will be out shortly.

Most came out on a gurney like a massage bed face down.. But I believe most stayed in that bed at Hopkins's a day or two before going home then.
That was about 15 yrs ago.

Good Luck...
 
seekeroftruth

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
vraiblonde said:
Becky, where are you living now? State will do, you know not to put your address or anything on here.

It's unlikely there is a retinal surgeon on here, so you'll probably have to call one local. Hope this gets resolved for you!
Click to expand...
I'm in Apache Junction, Arizona. The elevation here is a about 1600 feet and the surgical site is down in Mesa... at about 1100 feet. I had no clue.... it's all the "valley"....
 
seekeroftruth

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
black dog said:
Unbelievable Place, Dr Guyton? Did strabismus surgery on my son when he was little.

While waiting drs would come out and talk to familys every few min in the waiting room.
Well we took your husbands eye out and repaired what so and so F'ed up and he will be out shortly.

Most came out on a gurney like a massage bed face down.. But I believe most stayed in that bed at Hopkins's a day or two before going home then.
That was about 15 yrs ago.

Good Luck...
Click to expand...
I had a headrest like the ones that fit on the massage tables.... and I attached to a TV tray so I could sit in my own chair and still position with my head parallel to the floor..... for 5 days....

I was surprised when they told me "not" to position after the third surgery.... and the next day I had a bubble pushing on the pupil!
 
black dog

black dog

Free America
seekeroftruth said:
I had a headrest like the ones that fit on the massage tables.... and I attached to a TV tray so I could sit in my own chair and still position with my head parallel to the floor..... for 5 days....

I was surprised when they told me "not" to position after the third surgery.... and the next day I had a bubble pushing on the pupil!
Click to expand...
Ugh....
 
PeoplesElbow

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
Ken King said:
The pressure difference from 1600 ft to 1100 ft is right at .25 psi. Sea level is 14.7 psi, 1100 ft is 14.12 and at 1600 ft it is 13.87
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So 0.25 psi change or about 0.5 in-mercury and the standard range for weather related pressure change is 0.6 in-mercury, but it can certainly change more than that due to a storm system.

So the 500 ft change should not have had an effect on her eye.
 
seekeroftruth

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
PeoplesElbow said:
So 0.25 psi change or about 0.5 in-mercury and the standard range for weather related pressure change is 0.6 in-mercury, but it can certainly change more than that due to a storm system.

So the 500 ft change should not have had an effect on her eye.
Click to expand...
It's not just the change in altitude.... it's the speed at which that change occurs. The formula I found says it's safe to move 29ft/min. I was on the 202 at 60+ MPH at the greatest shift which is about 365' in just a few minutes. It's like tugging on a newly repaired t shirt.... pull on it and it ruffles around the repair. It's not a new eye ready for all this stuff... it's an old eye that has battled Lyme and Cancer.... so it's not going to bounce back like a new eye. Know what I mean?

There's a mountain out in Arizona called "Silly Mountain"..... it's 364'. Hubby and I tried to climb it when we first got here. It's one of the "things to do". I made it about 350' and Hubby made it to the top. When I left the surgery and drove home.... it might as well have been climbing Silly Mountain at 60+ MPH. I didn't know Apache Junction was on a mountain side..... I thought I was "in the valley". They didn't warn me not to go home.

And then I had to do it all over again the next day.... I had to go down into the valley for a follow-up and then back home again. Poor eye just couldn't keep up.... ruffle .....

:coffee:
 
Ken King

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
seekeroftruth said:
Apache Junction has different weather than Phoenix and Mesa. That should have been a clue to the doctor to warn me.
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Maybe a warning, maybe not. It isn't like you went up that significantly as Apache Junction's elevation is 1722 ft and Mesa's is 1240 ft, difference is 482 ft.

Reading an article from Retina Today the recommendation given by the author (an eye doctor in Denver) is that the patient should pull over every 500 ft of ascent and wait 10 to 15 minutes for the pressure of the bubble to balance out.
 
PeoplesElbow

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
seekeroftruth said:
Apache Junction has different weather than Phoenix and Mesa. That should have been a clue to the doctor to warn me.
Click to expand...
If things are that sensitive do they have to plan the operation around the predicted weather? I've seen some pretty quick pressure changes occur just due to weather.
 
seekeroftruth

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
PeoplesElbow said:
If things are that sensitive do they have to plan the operation around the predicted weather? I've seen some pretty quick pressure changes occur just due to weather.
Click to expand...
I only brought up the weather to show there is an difference between the surgery and my home. It's caused by the altitude shift.... like the weather in Front Royal is different than the weather in Lusby or Lexington Park.
 
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