I was telling my doctor how my kids were in the "throwing things phase" and it seemed like my brow bone or cheeck bone never caught the object first. It always hit me right in the eyeball, scratch my eye and just start an array of issues. Then she mentioned another decompression. It was in the back of my mind how painful the first surgery was seven years ago, but when I thought that my kids would see me feel better, I had to do it.
I had a CT scan done and from the view where you look down on top of the head, I could see how I still had a great deal of proptosis and how my right eye stuck out a bit further than my left. I was a bit nervous. The thought of anesthesia gets me more worked up than the actual procedure.
This surgery was supposed to be relatively shorter and less complicated than my first decompression, but seven hours later, my family was still waiting for me to get to recovery. My doctor basically cleaned house everywhere and removed bone on the outer edges and floor. Mind you, I am having both eyes done at the same time.
Well, I don't remember to much coming out of this surgery. Except major pain. I swelled up pretty bad and had to have oxygen. I do remember the nurse changing my ice on and off and putting ointment in my eyes. I remember him telling my husband if I didn't pee soon he would catheterize me again. (Nice guy huh?) I remember him resting his hand on my face (uhh, just had eye surgery here) to put the ointment in my eyes and mentioning Tobradex. I started yelling that I was allergic to Tobradex and don't put it in my eyes. Apparently they already had been. So, this would be set back # 1.
After going home the next day, man the pain was bad. I am not one to take pain medication, but I took it for the next three or four days. My surgery was on Friday and by Wednesday the stitches in the outside corner of my left eye had come completely out. Ahh, the start of setback #2. I went in Saturday and the Intern had restitched them. Not even ten minutes after being home they were out again. Went back the next day and the Resident stitched the inside tendon back to tissue on the bone and stitched the underside of the lid and outer lid. This is becoming an issue, not because I minded getting stitches in my eyelid, it was the lidocaine injection in my eyelid that hurt like hell and made me swell up each time. As soon as the swelling and bruising from each stitch session would start to heal, I'd have to have it done again.
Three weeks after the surgery, I could see a difference. My eyes didn't feel pressure as bad, my sinuses felt great and I wasn't getting headaches as often. My right eye does water a lot despite drops. It is constantly tearing non-stop. As far as asthetics, I still believe I need lid surgery on my left eye to bring it up a bit and to correct a double fold in the crease. At the time I am writing this, it is 9 weeks post-op. I am still sore in the edges of my eyes and still have little feeling around my eyes and cheeks. I have nerve pains and assume that is part of the feeling comming back. I have worn mascara a bit but can only do it for a couple hours then have to wash it off. Which is fine cause I can't feel putting it on anyway. Just trying to catch a glimpse of the old me pre-TED. LOL. I'm going to ask about under eye surgery, but my doctor has mentioned before that is tricky in TED patients because if to much is removed, it will give a hollow look and your stuck with that. Hey, doesn't hurt to ask. I feel I am entitled, after all of this, to want a bit of perfection to go with my new lease on life. |
