Another Eye Surgery

So, I had one more eye surgery this past week. I've really lost count. My mother says it was #16, but I think she's counting 5 or 6 laser procedures. Either way, it's been a lot. 20 years ago, I had a procedure to build a filtering bleb in my right eye. This was done to allow some relief to the high pressure in my eye. Regulating eye pressure was the main problem I struggled with during my teen years. When I was 19, the bleb was surgically built and the pressure stabilized--for a day or two. Then, the bleb collapsed, my pressure spiked and I was rushed into emergency surgery (with no anesthetic I might add), to rebuild the bleb. It lasted for over 20 years. Last week, my surgeon at Casey Eye Institute and I agreed that it was time to repair the bleb one more time. It had spread out and was so thin that the risk of infection or collapse was a serious problem. Also, the 'filtering' part of the bleb had turned into a tunnel opening going between the inside of my eye to the bleb (it's supposed to take a circuitous route like a filter). So, the docs fixed it. Well, they actually removed the old bleb and put a patch over the hole in my eye, effectively making a new bleb. The patch is cadaver tissue. So, I told Shannon that I have a zombie eye now. I thought that was hilarious right before the surgery--I think they had started me on something to relax me. I went home with a little bit of pain that grew into a little bit more pain. I thought my pressure might be up, but didn't realize how high it was until the next day at my post op appointment. The intraocular pressure (IOP) was at 40 (it's supposed to be under 20). So, the doc 'tapped' the eye--yep, like a keg. The pressure went down to 27 but quickly rose back up to 40. So, he pulled a couple stitches on the patch to loosen it a bit. That did the trick. The pressure went down--down to 7, then 5. Which is low, but okay. If pressure gets too high, the optic nerve is damaged--you go blind, maybe lose the eye. If the pressure drops to zero, the eye could hemorrhage and that's really bad too. So, keeping it in the sweet spot is the key.


I'm glad I still have my eye. Before the last two surgeries I got a bit despondent about it. I had thoughts about just getting rid of the eye--maybe, get a fancy glass or corral eye! Then, I could have fun watching people try to decide which eye to look at--actually, most prosthetic eyes are really good these days--no wandering eyeballs, etc. Still, I'm glad that my eye is still kicking. It may not last forever. But, it's made it a long way so far. I kinda want to see how far it can go!


Don't watch this if you are squeamish! It is a surgical procedure.