[PattiMeg]

#1059728

Hi all..I would appreciate any input/suggestions this forum can provide me (especially snelsen!! since I know you Shirley have had the double vision surgery and were pleased with the results).
Diagnosed Feb 2011 w/Graves, RAI in March. Lid swelling started soon afterwards and in April 2012 I had lid surgery to remove some of the extra skin and puffiness. Unfortunately, TED was not done with me and late last summer my eye muscles felt like they were “freezing”, my lids were retracting and I had to start taping my eyes shut at night. The double vision started soon after.
I did a course of oral steroids in November that seemed to really calm things down and hoping that things are now starting to stabilize. At this point my eye doc does NOT think I need an OD (based on the CT scan and the amt of proptosis) since my optic nerve is healthy and not at risk. Oh, but the double vision is just awful! I , like you Shirley, am a nurse, and luckily I can still work, but driving , movies, TV, shopping is awful. I CAN’T WAIT to have it fixed. I will need lid surgery to fix the lid retraction (upper and lower) after the double vision surgery is done. Shirley, I know you had lower lid surgery with lots of trouble with the graft site. This eye doc I am now going to is awesome – he does not use grafts, he is using a synthetic collagen that has 0% chance of rejection and reports a very high (95%) success rate. But that is all down the road, First and most important is this awful double vision.
I see the surgeon on Monday and wondered what sorts of questions I need to ask. I know that there are a couple of ways that they do it – one being where they use temporary sutures that they then tighten a few days later to tweak things. Shirley what kind of surgery did you have? did you do it under local or general anesthesia? how long before you could drive and work? did they fix it on the first attempt or did they have to operate more then once?
As you can see, lots of questions. Any info or suggestions this group has would be so helpful. I just don’t know what I would do without all of you.
Patti

[Kimberly]

#1177095

Hi Patti – I’m sure Shirley will jump in here soon, but if you haven’t already visited the GDATF’s YouTube channel, there are two videos that were uploaded recently from a strabismus surgeon who spoke at our San Diego Conference:

(Note on links: if you click directly on the following link, you will need to use your browser’s “back” button to return to the boards after viewing, or you will have to log back in to the forum. As an alternative, you can right-click the link and open it in a new tab or new window).

http://www.youtube.com/user/gravesandthyroid

It’s the two presentations titled “Battle of the Bulge”.

Hope that this is helpful!

[snelsen]

#1177096

Hi PattiMeg,
It sounds like you have a really wonderful surgeon! From my own experiences, and the fact that an OD is recommended for my right eye now, and I am pretty darn sure I will not do it….I think you are super lucky not to need OD.
And, as you know, and I have said before. I LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED my strabismus surgery, and the double vision was impacting my life as it is yours.

My experience with strabismus…
I’d go with what the surgeon does, mind did not leave the sutures in to adjust. It seems reasonable to do that, but I am not sure what the standard of practice is for that, and/or if there is one, and it is simply a matter of where they trained.

The double vision was gone immediately! No second tries.
The doc was a pediatric ophthalmologist. Who “did” adults with TED. Waiting room FULL OF KIDS!

Anesthesia, I had a “MAC” which monitered anesthesia care, I think you already know this,. which means you are put to sleep by IV (proposal) but if they stop the drip, you will immediately wake up. This is ideal for this surgery, cause he had me look at eye charts several times in the OR to be sure I was seeing single vision.
So that means no general, no intubation.
Easy recovery. I proceeded with living my life, not special precautions except not straining and lifting heavy stuff while the muscles healed.

I happily drove the next day, and went back to work in 3 days (wanted to have fun for those three days.)

Write again if you have more questions. The lower/upper lid procedures sound a heck of a lot better than my terrible experiences and poor outcomes. My right palatal graft site finally granulated over SIXTEEN MONTHS after my surgery. He said it would be pretty much healed in 10 days. Not a bit happy about this experience, that is for sure.

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