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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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I am currently 29 years old.
Agreed, 2nd opinion. Removing my floaters gave me a new lease on life. I was irritated everyday b/c I couldn't see well and its frustrating. Please see another specialist that works with replacing the fluid in your eyes. Relatively easy recovery and I am seeing very well.
...I just deleted my lengthy reply in case I said the wrong things at this worrisome time.... I have gotten used to my floaters, or grudgingly accepted they are here to stay, but yes my brain has adapted with time.... still horrible and I try and avoid any situation or location that makes them seem even worse... I agree with suggestion about a second or third opinion but not to make any hasty decisions, although it's tempting to proceed when we have been told someone can fix things. My heart goes out to you and maybe in the future, sooner rather than later, they will discover something that will be less risky to help us... take care and best wishes.. J.
Thank you all for the replies...
I booked a second opinion with a retina specialist in Chicago for the end of this month.
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2 Reactionssusan.... I do not say this lightly but it is something that has crossed my mind if I have to make a decision in the future: I am 77. ...years ago when, for instances, cataract surgery was performed, they did one eye at a time... I do not know why but I wonder if it was not only so the person could "see" with one eye while other healed or ? Would it make sense to perhaps not have surgery or treatment for both eyes at same time, but to have any procedure done to one eye and waiting to find out how the eye heals etc. ? I am so anxious I have even done this with eye drops as have so many reactions...isnt it horrible to not only live with illness and disease but also with the fear of the unknown and decision-making?
...after right eye "lasered" (local miserable hateful ophthalmologist .. truly) you could not ask him anything and he hardly spoke or told you what he was doing, I had various shapes and sizes too which, thankfully, are less now but one was like a miniature donut shape black and tiny ... and others.... it's really unbelievable and I wondered how can floaters have such unique shapes. I did see a specialist at a teaching hospital in toronto but years ago , before i got glaucoma and now cant travel there, and he said he could perform surgery, do cataracts at same time "and clean things up" but I was too scared to have done. it took me 2 years to get the guts to have an Iridotomy.... and now I find I still cant take many meds with glaucoma... honestly, its bad enough having eye issues but hearing so many different opinions from "those in the know" doesn't help.
@lacy2 One eye at a time.....protects the other eye from something going wrong—infection, unanticipated reaction to surgery or medical error.
@markymark215 A couple of things that happened in my case that I need to keep track of like diabetes (not yet but runs in my family), eye pressure (high blood pressure), dry eyes. Sometimes I also get a thicker film along with floaters which makes it more difficult to see. Seeing retina specialist regularly. Good luck.
@markymark215 I don’t have any experience with these problems at an early age. As I mentioned I was already 70 when this really hit. Are you by any chance very near sighted? I understand that can exacerbate this condition. A wait and see approach certainly can’t hurt... I think if you had a surgeon who told you that when you and s/he decide the time is right you can have surgery, you would feel a lot better about the situation and would be more comfortable giving yourself time to see if there is any improvement in the meantime.
Lacy, With some of the talk on floaters, it made me think of other things I’ve learned through reading online and through comments my vitreoretinal surgeon has made along the way. And..things I was never told.
- When I contemplated traditional cataract surgery on my left eye (our insurance doesn’t cover laser surgery), my surgeon told me I’d be “very happy” with the outcome. He did not mention that there were ANY risks involved. Since I had considerable floaters in that eye already, I made the request of him that he “please not cause me any more floaters” during the cataract surgery. He said he could not guarantee that. After surgery, within a couple days, the eye showed a new retinal tear that had to be repaired AND I now showed considerably more floaters (the veil, I’ve mentioned many times in posts). SO, these cataract surgery residual problems (maybe, surgeon errors) led me to need cryosurgery to heal the torn retina and the FOV for debilitating floaters.. In the time in between my cataract surgery debacle and FOV, I read “risks of cataract surgery” online and found “retinal tears” and “development of more floaters” as some of the most common adverse effects of the surgery. Additionally, I have the peripheral light streaks.
So, cataract surgery caused me: 1. A retinal tear - that needed immediate surgery 2. New floaters veil - for which I got the FOV and 3. Peripheral light streaks (called positive dysphotopsia) - that I live with
Conclusion: I went in to the cataract surgery thinking “you’ll be very happy with the results.” They told me surgeries are like “100 percent effective”.... I should have studied more. Even when you’re having a surgery that so many people get now, it is NEVER risk-free. They are not likely to tell you. I thought I had the best ophthalmology group, at least nearby me. I should have studied more online and looked into other surgeons.
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