I had a cornea transplant years ago in my right eye. It's a long PAINFUL story

[TomSlick]

but it comes down to a condition called keratoconus - cone shaped cornea.

Things have been fine for years but now my eye doc tells me I need a transplant in the left eye AND no one does the old-fashioned surgery any more. I now have to go to Houston - six hours away - not once but twice.

I get it, I'm lucky that the eye can almost certainly be saved, the new procedure has better results, and a shorter recovery. But Houston?

To add insult to injury, my eye doc says "if you were my father, this is what I would recommend." TRANSLATION: Listen, old coot, this is what must be done.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Tom please listen to me.

Travel as far as it takes to get the best.
If Houston is the best, do not think twice about it.
Do not horse around with your eyes.

I have a long painful story as well.

I had a botched routine cataract surgery by a bad surgeon who was well respected locally.
I could barely see and was in severe pain, you know what I am talking about.

I went to other so called experts who would not correct the problem because it was too complicated,
or one who made it worse. I was desperate.

I finally found a world class university eye surgeon 2 hours away who had pioneered many new eye surgeries.
I went to see him and his waiting room had patients from all over the world to see him, who had flown in.

We all waited 2 to 4 hours to see this doctor every visit, and we would have gladly slept in sleeping bags if we had to
wait overnight.

This doctor was a genius, and the nicest man you can imagine. He took his time with patients.
And in a calm low key way cured them.

I had series of 7 small surgeries, I was ecstatic, I could see and was pain free.

I would travel to another country to see him if I had to.

You only have one set of eyes.

Go to Houston and thank God there is a expert doctor relatively close to you.
Do not fart around with less than the best.

[TomSlick]

2. Not to worry. I have every intention of going to Houston.

However, it's a soldier's right to bitch - even an old retired one.

If all goes well, I will be relieved of the remaining hard contact lens currently in my left eye. That's the only nonsurgical correction for keratoconus. I've worn hard contacts since I was a teenager. (The Army docs never figured out why I was in hard lenses.) Hard contacts are a hassle on a good day.

[Irish_Dem]

3. You are lucky there is someone who can do the surgery and do it well.

Excellent that you will no longer need the hard lens.

Good luck, it sounds like you are in good hands.

[mitch96]

4. "keratoconus - cone shaped cornea."... I have that too, but not as severe as you... Had Radial keratotomy years ago

I was in a study group for evaluating the surgery. Now they do Lasik The RK worked out great, no glasses for about 10-15 years and then the old astigmatism and presbyopia kicked in.
Long story short after 40+ years my corneas are a bit messed up. The only thing that lets me see is special contact lenses. My vision changes over the course of the day so my glasses let me see reasonably sharp. Only for half of the day though. The rest of the day it's fuzzy.. If I could do it over and knew what I know now, I would not have done the surgery.. Ahhh vanity...
Get the best Doc you can find that has good credentials and Good luck to you...

m

[TomSlick]

5. My doc in Little Rock is supposed to be the best.

He tells me that Lasik is not an option because of the severity of the condition. My uncorrected vision in the un-grafted eye is noted as 20/???. I know the really big single line eye chart is an E only because it's always an E. Without the hard contact I see multiple images (six or seven, it's hard to tell) of lights. Everything else is a fuzzy blob.

I have 20/20 vision in the grafted eye, although I have developed presbyopia for which I use Walgreen readers.

My records are being reviewed by the docs at Baylor in Houston. Maybe there's a better answer. I'll ask, thanks.

[Figarosmom]

6. New procedure means better

Glad you'll get it done with a better solution than last time.

[TomSlick]

7. That's what my doc assures me.