Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Cataract Capsulation

This is the information about the latest procedure that is scheduled for my bum eye...and by the way...one of the side effects from this procedure is a DETACHED RETINA!!! I feel like I am a character in a Laura Numeroff story...A circle story that you just can't get out of....Anyway...this info comes straight from google....

"One of the most common cataract surgery complications is a posterior capsule opacity (also called posterior capsule opacification or PCO). During cataract
surgery, your surgeon will remove the cloudy natural lens of your eye (cataract) and replace it
with an intraocular lens (IOL). When the cataract is removed, your surgeon makes every attempt to maintain the integrity of the lens capsule, and normally your vision after cataract surgery should be very clear. (Should be is the key word)
However, in about 20 percent of patients, which would be ME… the posterior portion of the capsule becomes hazy some time during cataract surgery recovery or even months later,
causing PCO. Posterior capsule opacification occurs because lens epithelial cells remaining after cataract surgery have grown on the capsule. In some cases, if the condition progresses
significantly, your vision may be worse than it was before cataract surgery.

Fortunately, a YAG laser can treat posterior capsule opacity
safely, effectively and painlessly. This procedure, known as YAG laser
capsulotomy, often can be performed in your doctor's office.
The procedure takes only a few minutes and is entirely painless; nor does
discomfort occur post-operatively. You must remain still during the procedure, however. Very
uncooperative patients, such as children and mentally disabled people, may
require sedation.
Although a YAG laser capsulotomy poses slight
additional risk, overall the procedure is extremely safe. The most important
risk is that the retina can become detached from the inner back of
the eye.

"Eye" thought it was over....

today i went to mothershed's office to talk about corrective lenses for my bum eye...20/50...not so shabby for an eye that has been lasered, siliconed, gassed, and fitted with a new lens due to a cataract from all the above...not to mention the hundreds (or thousands) of stinking drops...after a few eye tests with bright lights and lots of small letters on charts it still appears that i have about 20-50 in that eye...things seemed to be okay and i was a little nervous about the style of glasses i would choose...would i go with a sarah palin look or a more sassy look that the young chicks are sporting...maybe some contacts...disposable, flexible, colored...the choices were going to be endless...just the thought of all the choices was making me a little nervous...i hate making decisions like that...wellllll ...when the dr. finished his exam, read the records and letters from dr. meyers he announced that i wouldn't be getting any corrective lenses today...since it had only been a few months since the cataract surgery(Nov. 17) there was still some film on the lens that would need to be cleaned off and that would have to be done and see if my vision improves any more... i didn't remember/understand all of "words that were coming out of his mouth"....capsulation, laser, cataract, insurance, simple procedure were about all that i heard...none of which sounded like really good news...I have since googled cataract capsulation and learned a little more about it...."eye" still don't like the sound of this....