6 weeks post surgery , insertion of Preserflo Micro shunt.

[muddledme]

Several points that were important to me.--

1. Try and get housework and any heavy jobs done before surgery and easy meals available for the first day or two. As you will be instructed not to bend or lift heavy objects for several weeks. A few knee pads or stools are useful,( but make sure you do not fall over them!.) Good night lights will help, as you will have only one good eye for a while and at night you will be advised to use an eye shield.

2. Before you leave the hospital ensure you have written instructions for after care and the next appointment. You should also have a 24 hr hospital contact number . The hospital will give you some post op eye drops , find out how long these last, as I had only 5 days supply and you will probably use a lot. Some assorted, coloured sticky tape for the tops is helpful. I needed to make a list of all the times the drops were due and infact I still use it although the drops are less frequent now.

3. I had to be extra careful not to instill the drops that I have always used on both eyes, into the operated eye. Putting the new drops in, it was easier to keep them cold in the fridge if possible so you can feel them . The operated eye seemed less sensitive for a while.

4 . The hospital staff were very helpful even when I phoned up twice on a Saturday. The experience was good and my eye is fine now although I have regular checks. I did feel very tired for a week or two, but apparently this often happens.

5. I had a local anaesthetic which was fine and quite interesting, although I was glad I had plenty of layers on as lying still for an hour it easy to get cold. I was given extra blankets.

I hope other people will have a similar positive experience of surgery.

[Joanna_GlaucomaUK Administrator]

Hello. Thanks so much for sharing your views and experiences with us. This is really helpful and interesting information!

[eyesong]

Please stay in touch and let us know how your pressure is going after implant, if still on drops etc and if you can feel the implant in place. So many options and no two are perfect for different people, I have tried to put off surgery for years after the failed SLT etc laser types. I saw the utube surgery for Baerveldt shunt and it looks too big, wonder if implants come in sizes, did your preserflo have to be adjusted in surgery? Just curious, thanks, good luck, eyesong in Texas.

[muddledme in reply to eyesong]

Hello eyesong,

There is an excellent Glaucoma Uk leaflet about Aqueous shunt implants, it can be downloaded from the website.

The Preserflo is about 8 mm long and less than 1 mm thick . It is made of flexible biomaterial that conforms to the curve of the eye.

My shunt has never been painful, just a bit uncomfortable for a few days and I only have a vague feeling of something in the eye when I press on the inner corner after instilling drops. It is well up under the eyelid so I cannot see it.

I do not think the shunt had to be adjusted in surgery and certainly not since.

The pressures have been 8-- 13 and mostly about 10.

Yes, still have drops. The antibiotics were just 4 x day for 2 weeks, and the steroids were initially 2 hrly for 4 weeks, but now 4 x day until 3 months after surgery. The idea seems to be that they stop inflammation.

My unoperated eye has pressures ranging from 17 --22 , not ideal as I have Normal tension glaucoma. This eye always feels a little sore as I need to take Simbrinza and Lumigan drops. The operated eye feels fine and not at all red.

I found it very helpful to search out all the information on line... there is quite a bit, and also I assume( that in Texas!) you can see the digital talks again from Glaucoma UK . There was one recently about eye surgery , and the next is about research.

Hope this helps, and good luck .

[bessygo in reply to muddledme]

Thank you for all the info re: your Preserflo procedure. If you happen to see this, would you be able to update us on your pressures? Have they remained low? Are you still on your Glaucoma drops? How has your vision been? In the US, we, unfortunately do not have the Preserflo yet. It is the only implant that could be promising to me since I do not want the Xen Gel, but I need pressures below 12 (I have very thin, lasiked corneas and have managed to keep my pressures 10-15 with drops, but I will eventually need surgery to get lower and I am terrified of a Trab because my pressures are already so low.