Vision - Epiretinal membrane surgery

Author

Epiretinal membrane surgery

CarlosWA

2004-11-03, 7:09 am

I will soon be scheduled for surgery on my otherwise healthy eye and I
would like to know how long does it take for the vision to come back
to be at least as good as before the surgery.

Web sites and my doctor give general answers that do not help me. I
need to know because my other eye has no central vision and is useless
for reading. My work requires to read many documents and information
on computer monitors (at client sites where I cannot use magnifying
software). I do contract work with fixed target dates. Changing the
contracts is not an option.

Thank you,
Carlos

Mike Tyner

2004-11-03, 11:10 am

"CarlosWA" <carmin.nnoospam@ca.inter.net> wrote

>I will soon be scheduled for surgery on my otherwise healthy eye and I
> would like to know how long does it take for the vision to come back
> to be at least as good as before the surgery.
>
> Web sites and my doctor give general answers that do not help me. I
> need to know because my other eye has no central vision and is useless
> for reading. My work requires to read many documents and information
> on computer monitors (at client sites where I cannot use magnifying
> software). I do contract work with fixed target dates. Changing the
> contracts is not an option.

Carlos, how can a bunch of newsgroup junkies give you more specific answers
than your doctor? Recovery time varies between individuals, depending on
whether you have an accompanying macular hole, on which surgical technique
(eg oil vs gas) and with how well you comply with the post-op instructions,
keeping your face down, etc.

It sounds as though you've already given consent, so presumably your vision
is near the point of disability already. If not, question your doctor
carefully about whether you should put it off as long as you can function.
In your case, membrane peel probably means at least a couple of weeks out of
work, perhaps a couple of months.

-MT

CarlosWA

2004-11-03, 11:10 am

I forgot.

I am 60. My corrected vision was 20/30 before it was decreased by the
membrane to 20/70.

Thanks,
Carlos

On Wed, 03 Nov 2004 07:39:34 -0500, CarlosWA
<carmin.nnoospam@ca.inter.net> wrote:

>I will soon be scheduled for surgery on my otherwise healthy eye and I
>would like to know how long does it take for the vision to come back
>to be at least as good as before the surgery.
>
>Web sites and my doctor give general answers that do not help me. I
>need to know because my other eye has no central vision and is useless
>for reading. My work requires to read many documents and information
>on computer monitors (at client sites where I cannot use magnifying
>software). I do contract work with fixed target dates. Changing the
>contracts is not an option.
>
>Thank you,
>Carlos

CarlosWA

2004-11-04, 7:08 am

Thank you for your answer. I know that an answer from this group
cannot predict how long it will take for my vision to come back. In
the absence of access to statistical information I was looking for
actual times that has taken for the vision to come back for others who
had an epiretinal membrane removed. As I said in my previous posting
my eye has no other problems. I will be speaking to my surgeon again
on this subject but where I live they are short of time to give
answers or may not want to commit to an expected recovery time. We
have government insurance in Canada. There are very few retina
surgeons and they are overworked. I know my surgeon is excellent for
the actual surgery but otherwise it is not the same service as when
you pay your surgeon.

Carlos

On Wed, 03 Nov 2004 09:20:14 -0500, CarlosWA
<carmin.nnoospam@ca.inter.net> wrote:
[vbcol=seagreen]
>I forgot.
>
>I am 60. My corrected vision was 20/30 before it was decreased by the
>membrane to 20/70.
>
>Thanks,
>Carlos
>
>On Wed, 03 Nov 2004 07:39:34 -0500, CarlosWA
><carmin.nnoospam@ca.inter.net> wrote:
>

Dr Judy

2004-11-04, 11:11 am

"CarlosWA" <carmin.nnoospam@ca.inter.net> wrote in message
news:g7kho0ltsijhb3pnvta4jthgepbph454jl@4ax.com...
>I will soon be scheduled for surgery on my otherwise healthy eye and I
> would like to know how long does it take for the vision to come back
> to be at least as good as before the surgery.
>
> Web sites and my doctor give general answers that do not help me. I
> need to know because my other eye has no central vision and is useless
> for reading. My work requires to read many documents and information
> on computer monitors (at client sites where I cannot use magnifying
> software). I do contract work with fixed target dates. Changing the
> contracts is not an option.

This is a question you need to ask your doctor, as the exact nature of your
problem and what conditions led to the membrane formation determines the
outcome. Having said that, this type of surgery is tricky and outcome
depends upon how your eye responds post surgery and whether there are any
complications during surgery. Your surgeon will not be able to give you an
exact time for recovery, only a general estimate, neither can he know in
advance whether you vision will come back to be as good as it was before the
membrane formed and how long it will take.

Dr Judy

> Thank you,
> Carlos