Both eyes together!

[YogaLover]

Does anyone have experience of having surgery on both eyes at the same session? If so I would love to hear from you.

My consultant is doing cataract and drainage improvement surgery at the same time for both eyes in the same session under general anaesthetic. I know this is a fairly uncommon arrangement and I’m wondering if I’ll be able to see anything following surgery due to dressings etc.

[Johnneyh]

That would not be wise by any consulant to do both eyes together and you to let him do it you wouldnt be able to see any thing

[warwickshire_singh]

I would have questioned him/ her, but really he/ she should know to do one at a time

[Iona57]

Hi YogaLover,According to NHS website, cataract surgery on both eyes at same time can be done on people with ' low risk of complications' but it doesn't say anything about having the ' drainage improvement' as well. I notice you have posts about other medical conditions you have, so I wonder if that is influencing your consultant's plan of action.

I had cataract and Hydrus stent surgery done on my 'good' right eye under local anaesthetic with sedation. I think the usual procedure is to have a dressing on the eye which you remove the next morning. However, because of poor vision in my other eye they left the dressing off.

I couldn't see at first through the operated eye and had all sorts of strange visual effects ( possibly due to the local anaesthetic wearing off). I actually had to close my right eye when moving around, or else I got dizzy and unbalanced. Fortunately it was better by the next morning.

I would say that you will certainly need to have a capable person with you at home after the surgery in case you find you are significantly incapacitated. I live on my own and thought I would cope ok after the op, but I had to call on a friend for help.

The other thing is that I had blurred vision until I was able to get a prescription for new glasses 6 weeks later. If you are having the surgery in both eyes then you may have two blurry eyes!

If you are living with someone who can help you, that makes life a lot easier, but if you are on your own it's worth mobilising some help .

Good luck with it! I'd also recommend contacting the Glaucoma Helpline if you want to talk things through.

[YogaLover in reply to Iona57]

Hello Iona57, thank you for sharing your experience and suggestions on coping. I live with my helpful husband and have already explained to close family that I may need their support initially.

I did contact the Glaucoma UK helpline and this was something that the person I spoke to hadn’t come across previously.

I’m hoping that after the first days of recovery I’ll be able to see in both eyes thus avoiding the imbalance of having one good eye and one minus 10!

I’m definitely apprehensive but staying positive and hope it will stop my advanced glaucoma advancing further.

Thank you once again

[Iona57]

That all sounds positive! I hope you have a good result.