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Wondering if anyone has had an FOV, Floaters Only Vitrectomy
I am wondering if anyone has had an FOV, Floaters Only Vitrectomy, and would be willing to share their experiences. For at least two years I was plagued with the constant irritating presence of gauzy, wispy, moving clumps that would obscure my vision and make reading and driving a tiring challenge. Prior to this I had had cataract surgery and a lens exchange surgery. Many, many follow up appointments and a second opinion did not pinpoint a reason for my continuing complaints. Although I did not complain of dry eyes, I was led to believe that was my issue and was treated with Xiidra and then Restasis and then even both at the same time, with no improvement in my symptoms. Finally a follow up appointment with a new ophthalmologist in the practice and my description of what I was seeing led to a diagnosis of a degenerating vitreous and a referral to a vitreal surgeon. Last week I had a vitrectomy to remove the vitreous. Despite the after effects of the surgery, the next day when the eye patch and bandages came off, I could immediately tell that my vision in that eye had cleared. It has been such a relief! I am hoping my recovery is uneventful and am now anticipating following up with the surgeon to schedule the procedure on my other eye. Has anyone experienced a situation similar to mine? Why would my problem not be recognized and diagnosed sooner? I have wondered if I simply was not able to describe my symptoms well enough or if ophthalmologists tend not to recognize or acknowledge how debilitating the condition can be. I understand that over time and with age the vitreous does degenerate for all people. Do only a few people experience what I did during that process or are there many people experiencing it’s deleterious effects on their vision and are just living with it, or as in my case, are not able to get a diagnosis from their eye care providers? I should add that I am in my early 70s and was extremely nearsighted my entire life. Anyone out there experience what I did?
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...do we ever go back to doctors and discuss that they said: you'll be happy with the outcome/surgery/whatever"....?
It's like someone slapping us in the face and we say "thank you."
I have always been a bit nervous around medical professionals and don't really say what is on my mind. Did this surgeon apologize to you? Why give a patient false hope?
It really bothers me when people criticize me or someone else for checking "anything" on Google or other web browsers. We know that it is not all factual; that basically anyone can put anything on Internet. But were it not for Internet, my not having a doctor, by having symptoms I can check before deciding whether or not to go to a clinic....I believe I am able to sort out the trusted sites and decide. And with access to sites even doctors use!!
Years ago I had a big book ... Reader's Digest Medical Book forget the title and it actually listed symptoms of cancer of the cervix, which I had.. and my doctor said it was "hygiene" (I kid you not); next doctor said on examining me: "I can't see anything" ... and by the time it was diagnosed, tumour was size of apple or small orange.... (1985) yet I was still afraid to speak up!!
Had I had a site similar to this , or even a computer, things would have been so different and I might have been diagnosed earlier and had less intense treatment. There are such great sites, such as this, on Internet.. so Dr.Google, I salute you!
Well said, Lacy! I did speak up in my case but the doctors covered for each other. I, also, went to another retinal specialist for a 2nd opinion and he arrogantly said, “how can I comment on the other doctor’s surgery when I wasn’t there!” I think doctors typically do this and protect each other.
Nonetheless, my retelling my story and complaining about doctors and surgical results is just a cautionary tale for the group. No matter how simple or low risk you believe a procedure to be, don’t go forward till you educate yourself as well as possible on the risks. Also, as hard as it can be, hunt down the best doctors and surgeons you can. Even with all my recent problems with this left eye, I DO THINK that the vitreoretinal surgeon did a good job with my FOV and I’m hopeful that the vision will be, at least, pretty good for a few years anyway!
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1 ReactionHi, In searching for information online prior to my FOV, I found considerable information under Dr Jerry Sebag and Dr Randall Wong. At an ophthalmology conference on youtube, Dr. Sebag discusses the idea of debilitating floaters and has a diagnostic process to determine when floaters are bad enough to consider a FOV. Dr. Randall Wong also provides webinars, discussion groups and interviews online. Maybe, you’ve seen these but I didn’t want to assume anything! If you have other references or discussion groups that you’ve found, please, post them. Of course, if anybody in group has good references to material, please post! Thanks
Just an update everyone — still suffering from these eye floaters. Taking about a 2 hour drive up to the Chicagoland area for an appointment with a prominent retinal doctor — Dr. John Pollack with Illinois retinal associates. He performs floater only vitrectomys and from my research is highly regarded!
@markymark215 Good luck! Please keep me posted as I too suffer from floaters that at times prohibits me from driving.
Small update —
Meet with the retinal specialist Tuesday up by Chicago. He wants me to wait at least 3 months before committing to do the surgery. Even then, he said he would have to think about if he was willing to do the surgery. Seemed very knowledgeable and overall got a very good vibe from him.
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1 ReactionHello, I would like to hear from people who have a Vitreous detachment, more specifically the Weiss ring floater. I was diagnosed very recently with vitreous detachment and has been distressing knowing I am going to live with this large floater in my field of vision. I am 55.
Hi @quincy9, I have had floaters for years and I can definitely attest about their annoyance. You will notice that I moved your inquiry to a very lengthy, ongoing discussion about vitreous detachment. I did this so you can connect with the members who have experienced this and perhaps share with you their story. I encourage you to go through the 8 pages worth of content in order to see what they went through.
@quincy9 are you also experiencing photopsia, the random flashes of light across your vision?
@amandaburnett .. oh so thats what its called.... photopsia... like tiny bright "comets" all of a sudden streaming across my vision... scares me as thats how my detached retina/vitreous started but didnt go away... sounds like it is worth reading thru the 8 pages... message not meant for me but thank you, J.
Thank you. Yes I am experiencing random flashes. Most irritating and scary is the pain I have in my left eye (the affected eye) too. I wonder if this is common. I’m scared, but I do have an appointment again with my ophthalmologist.