Doctor My Eyes

A quick update on the 5th week anniversary of the second retina detachment/reattachment surgery in my left eye. Not coincidentally, this was also the day for the 5-6 week follow up exam at Wilmer's Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore.

According to the Drs, first the resident, and the then the surgeon who did the surgery, things are progressing on track, with no issues noticed, although the surgeon did order photographs at the imaging center to see if the there was any scar tissue forming. They blamed scar tissue pulling on the retina for the second detachment. We await the results.

From my view, there have been modest changes from last week. The bubble is still prominent in my vision, occupying about a third of the view looking forward. The left, affected eye is quite near-sighted, as I was told it would be, it's view is still tilted to the right about 2-3 degrees, and a little uneven looking when looking at a straight line. Looking up or down, the bubble dominates. 

The two eyes are starting to work together a bit, a process either helped or hindered by the fact that their focal distances are quite difference. In relatively dim light, looking a relatively short (indoor) distances, the eye cooperate pretty well, the unaffected (and dominant) right eye providing clarity, and the left eye going along, and providing some depth perception. At text distances, the left eye is pretty well focused, but difficult to use with the right eye because of the tilt and distortion. At outdoor ranges, the cooperation is less. I see two crossing horizons, one clear and one blurry, although looking at less geometric things, like trees, it seems better.

They told me the bubble was about 35-40% of the original; I still have 2-3 weeks left (I hope; I'm bored of the bubble). They also said that once the bubble is gone I could go ahead and get a new prescription for glasses.

So, looking forward? Next week, I hope the bubble has shrunk out of my sight (looking forward), but I'm not too convinced that will be the case. And maybe, the eyes will start cooperating a little better in normal use.