Hyphema, vitrectomy, cornea stain

[JustMe_1980]

Hi all, I am a little scared right now and seeking wisdom from anyone who may have had similar experiences to me.

I recently underwent a retinal membrane removal on my left eye, as well as a vitrectomy. Quite a simple procedure or so we thought....

Gasses were inserted into the eye during the operation, with face down posturing required for 5 days post op. During the first night post op, i had an almighty bleed into the eye. Pressure went up to 60+ and you can imagine the pain.

Following approx 4 weeks whilst the surgeons waited for 'things to settle', a further 'washout' operation was required. During this operation, the size of the bleed was established and it's beyond anything the surgeons have seen before. The bleed filled the entire eye, including the front chambers, filling my eye front and back with blood. I have researched and found, amongst other issues, i have a '8 ball hyphema' - my eye is full of blood still, causing corneal staining and blindness in the eye - i can just about make out light/dark, but that's all. (Blood tests FOLLOWING surgery established i have an issue with clotting, which is being investigated by the haemotology team.

My question is... does anybody have experience of anything similar to this? Can anybody reassure or advise if/when the blood will clear from my eye? The most upsetting part is how the eye looks physically, the entire iris is black, and the 'white' of the eye is a horrid yellowy red colour.

Any advice, tips, treatments, experience would be gratefully received. Feeling very alone right now!

With thanks in advance,

[JohnHaganMD]

Yes, best of luck.   If the eye remains very poor vision, not painful and disfigured by the stained cornea it is often possible to restore a more normal appearance by special cosmetic contacts lens or what is called a "scleral shell"  

JCH MD

[JohnHaganMD]

No one should consider a retinal membrane peel and vitrectomy a "simple procedure".  

That being said your collection of complications are extremely unusual except in the instance you had a clotting deficiency.  So its like suddenly discovering someone is a hemophiliac during abdominal surgery.

The prognosis for useful vision in your eye is extremely guarded. I have seen this collection of problems twice before. It often follows what is called an "explusive choroidal hemorrhage"    One patient was on blood thinners and the blood was three times as thin as it should bee. It happened spontaneously when he was lifting something up.  The other occurred during cataract surgery when we used the old, large incision, multiple stitch "open sky" technique.   Neither patient retained any useful vision.

I would strongly urge you to start thinking about keeping your remaining eye healthy.  Be sure your surgeons check it over extremely well.  Avoid all acitivies that might result in an injury to your good eye. Wear protective glasses, live a very healthy lifestyle to avoid diseases like diabetes and hypertension that can damage your good eye and have your good eye checked at least every 12 months.

I'm sorry I don't have any good news for you.  there are always unexpected "miraculous" recoveries and I hope you have one.

JCH MD

[JustMe_1980]

Dr. Hagan,  Thank you so very much for your response; It really is useful to me to hear your experiences, especially as they concur with what my own medical team are telling me. I really am grateful that you take the time to respond to queries such as mine. You have reassured me in a 'second opinion' fashion, which is what I was hoping for when I posted here.  Remaining positive, healthy and grateful for a wonderful medical team (you're now included!)  With sincere thanks and best wishes.