Kathe's Other Eye

Kathe sent me this:

So, this morning I had the second eye operated on. 1.5 hours prepping for operation, .5 hours recovering, 5 minutes actual duration of operation. I'd been told I could get a video of the operation but I forgot to bring a video tape, so I looked it up on youtube. Here's the link -- no, wait a minute, none of you actually want to watch, right? One commenter said "I'm gonna have my eyes hacked out by diseased parrots, so I'll never have to do this." But believe me, it's preferable to having the operation performed by sick birds. For one thing, they'd probably take longer.

So anyway, here's how it's done: The bad old lens is rendered into bits by ultrasound (the machine goes grungitta, grungitta) and then the bits are vaccuumed out. Then the new lens is put into the empty place thus generated. I have the impression that the lens orients itself over a couple of hours (ie, the surgeon doesn't have to). Eye is patched for six hours, and a couple more if double vision is present after six. Drops are put into the eye on an increasingly complicated schedule for -- um, weeks anyway -- or "until they're gone." Oh btw, the incision is described as "self-sealing" and today the surgeon actually said "The incision is sealing itself just fine."

During the operation, the eye to be operated on is paralized and entirely put to sleep, can't close lid, can't see anything. The other eye is under a drape. The body, as a whole, is so "relaxed" that movement is not possible, or at any rate, would be very difficult. The mouth is entirely able to ask questions. The "relaxing" substance is said to induce some amnesia, but I don't believe I have forgotten any part of it. I did forget that I had had the IV removed, when I was in the recovery room, but I think that's because my hand (where it had been inserted) felt pretty much the same after it was removed.

My previously operated eye is doing fine, vision improved at a decreasing rate for about the first week. Operated eye lets in a lot more light. I was dazzled at first, but I seem to be getting used to it. Oh, and speaking of dazzled, the glare from the *very* powerful dilation of the iris which lasts a couple of days, prevents one from really appreciating the improvement at first.

I hope you're all actually interested in all this. I have known several people who have had this surgery, but all they ever said was, "yes, I can see much better now."

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Seeing is believing."\\