Eye surgery

[Blindbasset]

my doctor told me he wants to do surgery on my eye to straighten out a crease on the retina membrane. At the same time he said he will do a procedure that might eliminate the need for the injections I’ve been having for AMD. is anyone familiar with this?

[springcross]

That's great Blindbasset. I'm not familiar with it but it sounds very interesting. Let us know how it goes.

[Blindbasset in reply to springcross]

I will.

[Penelopeflower]

Blindbasset, sounds very interesting, will be good to hear how it goes. Best wishes.

[123charl]

Hello blindbasset.I

I have had loads of laser, eye injections and steroid implants. I've been injecting for forty years.

I completely lost my sight in my right eye last year, there had been a big bleed at the back of the eye.

I had an operation called vitrectomy. At the time of the operation, the surgeon also straightened out my retina.

The operation was 100% successful. It was instant, I could see immediately and I have no further appointments for treatment but have check ups every four months.

I hope my story helps you. You and I are very lucky to have caring consultants. Good luck with the procedure and keep positive.

[paulcom]

Hello I had the membrane opperation takes about 20mins. However they found a tear on retina that happened during removal (as its so fragile) so they had to laser to fix put a gas bubble in and I had to do "posturing" (lay on one side for 10 days 24hours a day) which is a nightmare.

It made no difference to vision and I still get implant injections.

That is my experience but if you dont go for it you will always say what if I had.

[Lupin1587]

Hi.

I have been offered surgery for a macular pucker/wrinkled retina. When I saw the surgeon I asked 'will this improve my vision ?' he said 'probably not' so I did not go ahead with it.

I have heard of posturing as paulcom mentions and the idea of that does sound a nightmare as mentioned above. I often suffer anxiety over my treatment and didn't feel I could go ahead if there was no improvement.

I have injections and laser treatment. I had a BRVO in 2016. My vision has improved a little over the years so I am thankful for that at least.

[Meep944]

At the advice of my retinal specialist,I had a vitrectomy to correct a macular pucker. Before the surgery I had 20/30 vision with some minor to moderate distortion. Following surgery I was left completely blind in the eye due to a retinal detachment that occured during the operation. 3 successive surgeries did not correct the detachment because portions of the retina had been excised during the original surgery. The point is this; be very cautious of trusting the surgeon who says they can fix a macular pucker unless the repair is absolutely necessary. Also, always get a second opinion before undergoing any surgery. Best of luck.

[paulcom in reply to Meep944]

Yes agree be careful. I have been told membrane is again coming away slightly 12 months on from getting it fixed. I dont think unless critical to sight i will get it done again.

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner]

Dear Blindbasset,

Have you been diagnosed with an epiretinal membrane?

moorfields.nhs.uk/eye-condi...

A vitrectomy is the name of the procedure used to treat an epiretinal membrane.

If you can find out the name of the procedure that you are referring to related to your wet AMD, then we can provide you with more information on it. You can contact your ophthalmologist via their secretary for this information.

The Macular Society helpline is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday on 0300 3030 111.

Alternately, you can contact us via:

[e-mail]

Kind regards,

[Blindbasset in reply to Rosalyn-helpline]

The procedure I am having done is called a vitrectomy with epiretinal membrane peel.

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner in reply to Blindbasset]

Dear Blindbasset,

The link that I sent you has information on a vitrectomy.

If you can establish the name of the procedure that you are referring to related to your wet AMD, then we can provide you with more information on it.

Kind regards

[Blindbasset in reply to Rosalyn-helpline]

That is what is on my preop sheet. My doctor said that he couldn’t promise but there is a good possibility I will not need injections in that eye afterwards with just that procedure.

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner in reply to Blindbasset]

Hello Blind Basset, I checked with our research department and they stated that this might be a beneficial side effect, but it’s not considered an actual treatment for wet AMD.

Kind regards.

[Blindbasset in reply to Rosalyn-helpline]

Thank you for checking this out.

[paulcom]

I agree this membrane procedure is only to smooth out any wavy vision you might notice.( membrane is like having a satin shirt that needs ironing) Surprised you were told injections might stop.