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Scleral Buckle Removal?
I'd very much like to have my scleral buckle removed and I have some questions:
Does the buckle remove fairly easily? (my eye looked butchered after the buckle was inserted and the pain was horrible .. I'd really hate to go through something like that again)
Are surgeons who insert scleral buckles also typically good at removing them?
Does the eye return to its normal spherical shape after the buckle is removed?
Roughly what would it cost to have a scleral buckle removed?
More information is you need it:
I'm 36.
A scleral buckle was put in my right eye when I was 16, after a bungee cord hit my eye pretty hard at work.
The buckle was put in place as a precautionary measure for an extremely small retinal tear (of the three ophthalmologists who examined my eye, one had a lot of trouble finding it and another didn't find it at all).
I've always been able to feel the buckle scraping my eye socket when I move my eye.
The buckled eye bulges out of the socket a bit more than my other eye.
The buckle has always been partially visible when I'm looking straight ahead and very visible when I look to the side.
After the surgery my eye was no longer able to focus and still can't focus to this day. The focal point is about four inches in front of my face. Anything closer or further is blurred.
There is also a feeling of tension on my eye tissue when I look to the side and I get headaches behind my right eye.
Does the buckle remove fairly easily? (my eye looked butchered after the buckle was inserted and the pain was horrible .. I'd really hate to go through something like that again)
Are surgeons who insert scleral buckles also typically good at removing them?
Does the eye return to its normal spherical shape after the buckle is removed?
Roughly what would it cost to have a scleral buckle removed?
More information is you need it:
I'm 36.
A scleral buckle was put in my right eye when I was 16, after a bungee cord hit my eye pretty hard at work.
The buckle was put in place as a precautionary measure for an extremely small retinal tear (of the three ophthalmologists who examined my eye, one had a lot of trouble finding it and another didn't find it at all).
I've always been able to feel the buckle scraping my eye socket when I move my eye.
The buckled eye bulges out of the socket a bit more than my other eye.
The buckle has always been partially visible when I'm looking straight ahead and very visible when I look to the side.
After the surgery my eye was no longer able to focus and still can't focus to this day. The focal point is about four inches in front of my face. Anything closer or further is blurred.
There is also a feeling of tension on my eye tissue when I look to the side and I get headaches behind my right eye.
The scleral buckle make the eye myopic and why you see so close to your face. It should be possible to correct the myopia with glasses or contacts to move the focal point out.
Retina surgeons have expertise removing these. The question is whether it is safe to remove the buckle without inducing a retinal detachment. No ethical eye surgeon will remove a sighed eye for the list of complaints you present.
My strong suggestion would be to see 2 or 3 retina surgeons and discuss your complaints and how much it bothers you. It then becomes a case of risk vs. benefits. You might try Stanford and some of the U of Cal School of Medicine Dept of Ophthalmology.
I cannot tell you the costs since that will vary depending on where you live, your insurance, whether your surgeon participates in that plan and what is done.
Retina surgeons have expertise removing these. The question is whether it is safe to remove the buckle without inducing a retinal detachment. No ethical eye surgeon will remove a sighed eye for the list of complaints you present.
My strong suggestion would be to see 2 or 3 retina surgeons and discuss your complaints and how much it bothers you. It then becomes a case of risk vs. benefits. You might try Stanford and some of the U of Cal School of Medicine Dept of Ophthalmology.
I cannot tell you the costs since that will vary depending on where you live, your insurance, whether your surgeon participates in that plan and what is done.
Thank you for the answer Dr. Hagan.
Before I learned that a scleral buckle could be removed, I was seriously considering having the eye removed. That's how much it bothers me.
Could you please tell me what it generally costs (rough estimate) to have a scleral buckle removed?
Before I learned that a scleral buckle could be removed, I was seriously considering having the eye removed. That's how much it bothers me.
Could you please tell me what it generally costs (rough estimate) to have a scleral buckle removed?
Retina detachment surgery is very unique and defies generalizations. Same way with buckle removal. Generally buckles are left alone unless they are cutting into the eye (intrusion). Only a retina surgeon looking in your eye can appraise the risks which would include re-detachment of the retina
JCH MD
JCH MD
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