See my comments below: More information for people who might like it.
I hope that this information will go on file and be useful to someone else in future. Best wishes, and please join in thanks (and prayers if you want) for the surgeons who have spent 10 years in training to help us with these problems.
I’ve just had retina re-attachment surgery, and my husband has just been diagnosed with macula degeneration which is not age-related. Here is what we have found out.
The bit of the eye that we see in the mirror is the front bit, the iris and pupil. We don’t see the lens, but it’s in the front bit too, just behind the iris and pupil. When the lens gets cloudy, it’s a cataract. Surgeons make a slit along side it, pop out the lens with the cataract, then pop in a new artificial one and lazer shut the slit. In the old days when my mum had it done, it was shutting the slit that made it a harder operation. Now it’s as common as shelling peas. The surgery is all done from the front. They replaced a lens in my eye during the operation, as they said it was deteriorating and they might as well do it at the same time.
The bit of the eye that we don’t see in the mirror is the back of the eyeball. The surface inside it is the retina, like wallpaper across the back wall. In the middle on the back is the little round macula - that’s why when the macula goes wrong, you lose the central circle of your field of view. The optic nerve is relatively quite big, and it attaches the retina and macula to the rest of the brain.
The centre of the eyeball is filled with a special jelly, which appears to do nothing much more than keep the front bits away from the back bits.
To do the retina reattachment, they have to get to the back bit. First they take out all the central jelly, then they get out the jelly that has leaked between the retina and the back wall of the eye ball. Next they lazer stitch the retina to the back wall of the eyeball. With any luck, they don’t muck up the optic nerve. After that, they refill the centre of the eyeball. For preference, they fill it with a gas which is gradually absorbed and naturally replaced with some new jelly. They can’t do this if you are going on a plane, because the gas may not cope with the pressure variations, so they fill it with some sort of oil. After you get to where you are going (eg Alice Springs), you have a second easier operation where they suck out the oil and replace it with gas. I’m glad I didn’t need this second procedure.
These days they try to avoid a general anesthetic, particularly on older people, because it can affect the brain and even precipitate dementia. Even without that, the optic nerve and the brain can get a bit confused, before, during and after the procedure, and it doesn’t always continue to work perfectly. That’s why the doctors keep checking you afterwards for quite a long time.
This is reassuring, as I had a complication which I now know is not unusual. My retina developed a wavy skin, so I have another ‘peel’ surgery that removed the skin. Since then, my eye is still different. I was under the impression that you were as good as new like after a cataract operation. It ain’t necessarily so!
See next section!
My DH’s issue is with the macula in one eye. When it was first found in an inspection for new glasses, it was assumed to be the common Aged Related Macula Degeneration (ARMD), for which there is no cure. When you know the changes in treatment possible in the last 50 years, you can only hope that macula will be more treatable in future as well. However further investigation showed that it was not ARMD, but caused by a leakage of blood vessels in the back of the eye. Good news! because it’s treatable now.
DH now has a course of monthly injections into the eyeball, which have made his eye appear very bloodshot. This has lasted three weeks since the first injection, and it will start again next week with the next injection. We weren’t expecting the treatment, and he couldn’t see at all after the drops and the injection. I was fresh from my second surgery myself, so I drove home on back roads through the hills, very slowly and carefully.
DH thinks that the sight in his affected eye has already improved, and is quite happy about the whole course of treatment. That’s great news, because he is suspicious of doctors who want a course of treatment at $500 a time!
I hope that this information will go on file and be useful to someone else in future. Best wishes, and please join in thanks (and prayers if you want) for the surgeons who have spent 10 years in training to help us with these problems.
Yours, Margaret
I had the cataract surgery done, one before the pandemic, and the other when the pandemic had slowed down. I was wondering how the eye was sealed after the new lens was in place, now I know, thanks.
I use to see up close without glasses, could read the small print on anything. Now I can't :( It's been quite an adjustment. Reading glasses didn't work, made me sea sick. Will try bi-focals next. Right now, I feel like Sherlock Holmes with his magnifying glass !!
My Dad, who was in his mid-90's, had macular degenderation, and the shots had just came out about four years or so ago. Dad was more than happy to try the shots. Yes, it was expensive, usually anything new will be costly until it becomes more common.
They’ve made me think more about the optic nerve and the involvement of the brain in vision. We imagine that we see with the eye, but in fact it’s the brain that’s in charge. It’s obvious when you think about dreams – they are usually visual, but our eyes are closed in sleep and we certainly aren’t ‘seeing’ the dreams normally. I just hope that my brain settles down a bit as soon as it can!
I found this article interesting. Apparently the injections for wet Macular degeneration is to be given monthly for from one to three years. At that it is 35 to 40% effective as compared to 5% with no treatment and a possible loss of site in a year or more.
They are apparently now giving the same three meds used for injections to stop blood vessel growth by DROPS for some people who refuse injections due to pain, and are looking to this being a possibility in future.
Sure wish your hubby luck with this. My friend Di takes the monthly injections, as well, Margaret.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, you are such a great resource. Margaret
I remember the doctor said there were some cure for the wet one. For sure shots, and in some cases surgery.
Mum has to wear big special sunglasses with "orange/yellowish" to protect her eyes from light. The doctor told me to always wear sunglasses to protect my eyes. It is not sure this is genetica but it is better to pay attention.
Here's an interesting article that can help you to avoid common eye problems by adopting simple habits. Just give a look and try to follow such a healthy routine.
https://www.everfinite.com/2021/08/improve-eyesight.html
Dark mode on devices that have that option, rocks,