NOAH AOC

Hey all! 

My daughter (15-months old) is due to have surgery for her "lazy eye" at the end of the month, so I would really LOVE to hear from any of you who have gone through this with your darlings and let me know what to expect.  I'm trying to not get too worked up because it is a fairly simple surgery (from what I've read about it) but still, its SURGERY!!   One of my questions for the PO when we have our pre-op appt with him is if her glasses prescription might change after this, requiring new lenses.  Anyone have any input on that?

Thanks!

Hi,

My son Grayson is having nystagmus and strabismus surgery at the end of November the week after his 2nd birthday.  I'm scared too.  He doesn't wear glasses, but I heard from another mother that after the surgery the sight may dramatically be better.  This is what one mother wrote to me:

how did the surgery go?

Hey Cheryl!

 Thanks for asking!  The surgery was 2 weeks ago, and everything went really well.  Rachel did have to stay in the first-stage recovery for double the time they initally told us, because of some breathing complications due to a bad cold a month prior.  But when she came out she did great.  She was groggy and snuggly but never did got to sleep while we were at the hospital.  She slept a little more than usual the next day, then was back raring to go by Thursday.  And her eyes are straight now!!!     That was pretty cool when we first realized that she was looking at us with both eyes straight ahead!  It was Thursday before we really noticed that things were straight.  She still has to wear her glasses but that's okay.  So everything went really well.

If you want, I posted a blog about it on NOAH's blog page.  This surgery got me to thinking about the nystagmus surgery that is available, but I don't think we're ready for that.  Our PO said that they don't have the type of nystagmus that would benefit from the surgery, but I don't really know what he meant by that.  

Anyways, thanks again for asking!  Have a good one! 

Im glad everything went well.  That is great to hear,  Cash may have it done in April:o)

  Hello there,

I know you posted your message over a month and a half ago, but I was lucky enough to have found it last night when searching for Strabismus Surgery on the web.  I have a 3 year old daughter who is scheduled to have Surgery on November 14, 2007, and I thought she was too young for it until I saw your posting.  How did  the surgery go? Were there any complications?  I am really worried about the Anesthesia that will be used on her, and if it is dangerous in any way? My daughter was prescribed strong prescription glasses two months ago. Then a few days later,  I was told she would need surgery also. Only after reading your page, did I start to wonder if her glasses prescription will change after surgery?    Did you find that out at your pre-op appt.? I hope you don't mind me asking these questions, and I would be grateful for any info you could give.  Thank You

 Hi Rosalie!

 The surgery went really well.  I can understand your anxiety about the anesthesia - that was my biggest concern as well.  We had to check in to the hospital 2 hours before surgery for all the intake stuff, and we were scheduled for 8:00 surgery.  They came to take my daughter back at about 7:40.  At the children's hospital here in Omaha, they sedate the kids with oral meds before putting the IV in or anything, so she was awake when they took her back (that was way harder on me than her!).  The surgeon came to find us almost exactly an hour later and said everything went fine.  I can't remember the name of the anesthetic that they gave her, but the Anesthesiologist came and talked to me beforehand about the options.  He was basically just thinking aloud because I had no input for him, but he chose the best med to help avoid nausea, because that's a common side-effect of eye surgery.  She was in the 1st level recovery (away from us) for almost double the time they told us she would be, and that's when I got nervous.  Turns out she was having trouble keeping her oxygen saturation in her blood up when she would cry or cough while waking up, so they wanted a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia.  They brought her to me after the x-ray was done, but her sats kept dropping for another couple hours.  Turns out she still had gunk in her chest from a bad cold a month prior to the surgery, and the anesthesia didn't mix well with that.  By 1:00 she was fine, although a little groggy and clingy of course.  She did not have any nausea, thank goodness.  Her eyes were red and did leak some reddish tears, but even that wasn't as bad as I had imagined.  We went home, she slept for 3 hours, and woke up good as new!  Ate a full dinner that night and everything.  We had to try to keep her from rubbing her eyes for a couple days, and put antibiotic drops in 2 times per day.  She never did develop any bruising around the eye, and 5 days afterwards she only had some redness on the insides (BTW - she had both eyes operated on).  So it really wasn't bad.  And now that we're 3 weeks out, I'm amazed at how straight her eyes are.  I never noticed how obvious the turning in was until now that its fixed.  She's all the way straight with her glasses on, and only a slight deviation without the glasses!!!  So it was a major succes!!!

As for the glasses, we haven't gone back to evaluate that yet.  We go about the same time as your daughter's surgery and we'll find out then.

How old isyour daughter?  Did you try patching or the atropine drops prior to surgery or glasses?  We got the glasses in April when she was 10mo old, started drops in her strong eye to make the weak eye work more in late-May for about 8 weeks, then went for surgery to correct for the tight inside eye muscles.  The drops really worked nicely to "rebalance" the use of both eyes.

My only advice is to ask any questions that come up, don't be afraid to speak up, and if at all possible schedule surgery well after any chest colds (if at all possible)! 

Sorry for the long post!  Feel free to email me if you have any more questions or anything.  I took a day-after-surgery picture if you'd like to see what she looked like.

teeruppert@gmail.com

Have a good one!

Hello Teeruppert,

 I just want to say thanks so much for your response, It helps a lot to know what to expect.  I wish I had a Doctor like the one you seem to have had.  In my case, our doctor is the only pediatric opthamologist in Los Angeles County, which is where I live.  There are so many people in his office and when I do ask  questions, he seems irritated.  When I asked him about maybe using a patch or other procedure before having to have surgery, his response was "If I thought it would work I would have said that in the first place."  Which is probably true, but the way he said it seemed a little mean.  I did ask other people who were in his office and have had the surgery, how things went for them, etc., and most said he is a very good surgeon and they hadn't had problems.  But, most did say that one surgery didn't do the trick and some have had multiple and are still needing more surgeries, which I didn't like to hear.  Also, I was told by a past employee from his office, that he likes to give surgery often before trying other options, and he makes more money doing so, so he recommends it all the time.  I have no idea if that is true, having been said by a former employee, but I am more apprehensive about the surgery just the same.  The only other option is to see another doctor for a second opinion, but I would have to go to another county 70 miles away which is hard because my car isn't in great shape.  Then on the other hand, he does have a good reputation and has had 35+ years experience.  My daughter is going to be 4 years old this December, and at first her eye wasn't that noticeable or at least wasn't that bad.  Then this past year it got worse though still only noticeable when she tried to see looking sideways, then the white of her right eye would show instead of the iris.  Anyways, I must be rambling now.  But again, I want to thank you for your post, and I would love to see the pic if I may!  If you want to send it directly to my email address, instead of posting it, here is the address:  rosalienavarrette@hotmail.com

Thank You So So Much!!!

Rosalie

Hi All,

I'm a female with OA I also have nystagmus I had strabismus and I'm nearsighted. I had the Strabismus Surgery when I was three or four years old. I've never had nystagmus surgery. My nystagmus isn't very serve. In fact, the only time my nystagmus is noticeable is when I'm concentrating on something or when I'm tried.

.