ERM/Vitrectomy Surgery

[homecrafter]

Need Opinions, Especially Doctor opinions PLEASE.

Long story short, went to 4 Retina Specialists due to recently diagnosed Dense ERM in one eye...now 20/200 when one year ago was 20/20.  All 4 doctors said to get a Vitrectomy/ERM ILM peel done as soon as possible for potential best results, although no one was saying the potential outcome.  I only want to do this surgery ONCE, (as does everyone I'm sure).  I am hearing horror stories about post surgery retina detachments, and other complications so I am trying to select my surgeon wisely.  
I eliminated 2 surgeons because they use the ICG dye, which can be toxic to the retina.
The 2 surgeons I am deciding between are:
#1)  A new surgeon in Seattle that did his 2 year fellowship at the Dr. Charles Retina Inst. in Memphis, which I've heard is one of the finest.  However, this same surgeon only has less than two yrs. experience in his practice.  He sounds confident, but I know that "experience" probably plays a huge role in how talented a surgeon is---especially with a thick ERM where he might have to spend more time inside the eye and the surgeons run the risk of overmanipulating the eye inside.
#2)  A 63 year old experienced Surgeon with a good reputation and was nice and patient during our consultation.  He does not believe in using the ICG dye and would use a technique to define the tissue with some sort of "dusting" that lights up the scar tissue ?  The young surgeon mentioned using this same technique, and I was wondering why the majority of surgeons don't use it if it is safer than the ICG dye ?

Anyways, do any of the Doctors or anyone have any suggestions or opinions that can help me get off the fence here and finally move forward with a surgery decision ?????          

[sandyhi5]

Good question about did he get a complete peel.  my regular opthamologist took his
pictures 2 weeks after surgery and felt that he may have missed a bit. So when the
surgeon had his baseline pictures taken at 6 weeks, asked the Dr who took the pictures
to check if Dr Freeman got it all. Could tell that the results were awesome. Just perfect!
Could see it in the Dr's eyes when he looked at the pics...even before he said anything.

While full recovery appears to be a very slow process, that could take up to a year...
now roughly 2 months after surgery am doing limited driving...even on the freeway;
shower and sleep normally (i.e., with no eye protection).Am pleasantly surprised that just about all the pain and discomfort of the first couple of weeks is, knock on wood, pretty
much gone.  
.  

[JodieJ]

Dr. Charles has stated that peeling the ILM provides assurance that all of the ERM has been removed.  Apparently, it is sometimes difficult to visualize the ERM during surgery.

[homecrafter]

Thank you Sandy.   How is your ERM peel recovery coming along ?   Any complications ?
Was the Dr. able to tell you if he got all of the scar tissue out the first time ?  

[sandyhi5]

You might want to check out William Freeman, M.D. @ UCSD Medical
Center/Shiley Eye Center. Phone number for the Clinic is 858-534-6290.
6 weeks ago, I was priviliged to have this noted and gifted retinal surgeon deftly remove my ERM.  As he did so, he quietly commented on aspects of  his technique to the surgeon in training at his side. Prior to surgery,
another Surgical Resident told me that he was  actually an experienced
Retinal Surgeon from Korea, who in 8 or so years, had already removed
1000's or ERMs...but had still come here to Dr. Freeman, to further improve his skill.

[homecrafter]

Hello John,  
Your last comment on my thread did not show up for some reason.
Would you mind reposting it please ?
Your opinions are very valuable to me !

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[homecrafter]

Hi Jodie, Thanks for taking the time to Google Dr. Fung.  I have done that but couldn't find any sites that actually had any patient ratings.  I'll try again.

[JodieJ]

I googled this doctor, who graduated from medical school in 2003.  He had to complete an internship and residency in ophthalmology before beginning his fellowship.  I'm sure that he got lots of surgical experience during his residency and fellowship years.  I can imagine that getting a fellowship with Dr. Charles was very competitive--Dr. Fung must have been a very strong candidate to have been selected.  He is board-certified in ophthalmology, and he has very high ratings from former patients on the online sites I found.  I'd suggest that you try googling the other doctor you're considering.

[homecrafter]

Thank you for your response Dr. Hagan.  I'm a little confused though, how could a "new" surgeon (Dr. Fung in Seattle) with only less than 2 years at his practice and did his fellowship 2007-2009 with Dr. Charles...how could he have 8 or 9 years of surgery experience?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

First it's important to know that no surgeon, not even Dr. Steve Charles, among the best in the world, can guarentee no complications or only one surgery. It's big time major eye surgery.

Ultimately the person that must decide is you. That "new" surgeon you talk about has been doing one type or another of eye surgery for 8 or 9 years so you can likely discount the "experience" part of the equation.

Second one of the most common complaints about retina surgeons is that they are so busy that they never talk or explain so #2 has a gold star for that.

JCH MD