Exchange of an exchanged iol
Posted , 8 users are following.
just giving and update on my condition
originally i had cataract surgery in dec 2017 with a local opthomologist i chose to have multifocal lenses implanted in both eyes, the right having a toric to correct astimatism . i am a previous lasik patient
the first surgery didnt go as expected "the power is off" said the dr. i had a reator 2.5 toric implanted i couldnt see better than 20/60 and had a ghosting effect dr said yes lets proceed to next eye as planned one week later, "i know what to do" left eye done end of dec 2017 never got better vision than 20/50even though he went up +1.0 in power. april 2018 we exchanged right eye with restor 2.5 with a 1.5 power stronger. dr claims to have done few exchanges after initial surgery i still had visual disturbances ghosting and i could see a rim effect that never went away 4 months post surgery dr says lets do yag in left eye then i can have lasik enhancement ...went for lasik evaluation to original lasik center ( millenium) . "yes we can correct distance, but it will do nothing for close up ( whats the point of having multifocal in this case??) go to another catarct surgeon for another opinion on left eye and why i have rim effect and ghosting effects on right eye "slight tilt in right eye , and wrinkles in retina, bag and on cornea . "lets dialate and proceed to yag in right eye" upon dilation, dr says haptic is out of bag cone see me in 4 months see your optomitist in 2 months, also that hes never operated /exchanged a lens in this situatuon i go to another dr for another opinion ( sister company to who did my lasik in 2001, also i know they are @$4k per eye for speciality lenses). this dr has seen and operated on similar situatuons but would prefer to use restor 3.0 toric to bring in reading distance ( there is a lot more to this story than what im typing).
i had surgery nov 1 thursday with dr shatz at sight truat in sunrise florda cost $3750 per exchange i have a thumb drive of my surgery where i can plainly see the old iol 1/2 way out of the bag i can see where the bag (capsule that holds the lens in place) had adheard to itself. the recorded time of surgery was 32 minutes (i arrived at 2:30 departed office at 6) today is sunday and my vision is similar to looking through plastic i am on durezol 2x daily moxifloxon 3x daily ilevo 1x day and natural tears ( refresh or systane preservative free) at least 4x day. my one day follow up went as expected my healing time will take longer than usual dr had to make 3 incisions to complete the surgery . dr also gave the name of an over the counter med to help clear things up a day or two faster as of now i have not bought it i have no pain associated with surgery ( although my shoulders are stiff from nerves) .
all in all im grateful for surgeon and his ability to reopen the bag and get the iol where it ahould be outcomes may not be 20/20 but at least i will not have a haptic floating around in my eye rubbing against the iris anymore which would have caused problems down the road.
im kicking myself for not going to dr shatz firat it is a 3 hour drive from home, so picking convenience over my gut instinct did not pay off in the long run
i will be sending a letter to my original surgeon stating my condition. perhaps i will receive some compensation for all the trouble he has put me though if not, i will know exactly what kind of person he is and will do my best to inform others to stay away from him
1 like, 12 replies
Komiko julielyn
Posted
I'm so glad you found a surgeon who could correct your situation, and I'm hoping you have quick healing and restoration of your sight. I do believe you can make a complaint to your state medical board which oversees licensing of physicians in your state. Your original surgeon did not follow standard practice by proceeding with your other eye, without resolving the issues with your first surgery. You may have cause to file a suit against him also. I'm not sure of the exact procedure to file a complaint, and will try to find out more tonight when I go to work. I work at a local hospital and actually had a conversation with one of my nurses last night regarding my own issues and she's the one who tipped me off about being able to file complaints. At the least it might give you more leverage against him for compensation.
julielyn Komiko
Posted
thank you komiko, any additional information would be helpful. I do have support from my sister in law who is a DO and one of my customers who is a prosecutor in another state.
Komiko julielyn
Posted
Something else I just thought of, do you have a copy of all your records from this surgeon? If not file a medical records request with his office for release of all medical records. It is your right to request and have all your medical records. If you think you'll get push back on this you can have your current surgeon request the records for you. You will have to fill out a form and sign it and he can send it to their office for you.
Komiko julielyn
Posted
Go to your state medical board website, there should be a link for instructions for filing a complaint. I'm assuming you are in Florida. I looked and it directs you to the Florida Department of Health, there you can find instructions. There is a form to download.
It was also suggested that you contact your state Attorney General office and file a complaint with them. Good luck, keep us posted.
Sue.An julielyn
Posted
you sure have been through a lot. If me it would be more than my shoulders that would be stiff! Glad you've found a surgeon that had the skill to fix the errors of the first surgeon who in my opinion should never have pushed you to have 2nd surgery. Hoping you can file a complaint and get some compensation. best wishes to you Julielyn
derek40125 julielyn
Posted
Thanks so much for continuing to post your experiences. I feel terrible about the care and advice you got with the original surgeon. Hopefully your decision to move on to another surgeon will result in much better vision once healing is complete and also maybe convince others to question their surgeons if they are in similar situations.
Please continue to post as we'll all be hoping for a positive outcome for you.
julielyn
Posted
thanks for the responces its been a nightmare roller coaster ride for me for almost a year now.
sue.an--my entire body has been effected, but really didnt want to get into it 😉 anestia affects me for long time and thank god i didnt vomit after surgery like i normally do
jantje32476 julielyn
Posted
You are incredibly courageous and thank you for sharing your valuable experience with us. Hope I got it right. Your "right eye" now has had 1 cataract surgery plus 1 lens exchange (with restor 2.5 @ 1.5 power stronger but poorly executed surgery left haptic out of bag) by the original cataract surgeon, and a 2nd lens exchange (with restor 3.0 toric to bring in reading distance) by Dr Shatz. Wishing your eyesight a speedy recovery and rest up.
Interesting if it is the same Dr Shatz, a native of Montreal who studied Medicine in the US and is now with SighTrust.
seeherenow49806 julielyn
Posted
So sorry to hear about all your difficulties, JulieLyn.
One thing not well known - some of the IOL's have inherent or common problems with the haptics. The surgeon who did my left eye (and over 15,000 cataract surgeries) used to implant Restor IOL's but stopped because "patients were unhappy with them". Similarly, he was very big on the Crystalens until it became common knowledge among well informed surgeons that the haptics could bend in the eye, called "the Z syndrome".
I imagine the surgeons get a lot of info from the company sales reps, so may have to make an extra effort to get other contradictory info. If they do a lot of surgeries, they would have more first hand experience of any common problems with a particular IOL.
Wishing you a miraculous recovery process!:)
Sue.An seeherenow49806
Posted
Thank you for sharing that information. I surgeons aren't always aware - not much of a chance a patient could get info on issues concerning a particular IOL.
This (among others) is likely why Canada is slow to approve the latest lenses.
julielyn
Posted
there was no problem with the haptic or the lens it was never inserted properly in the bag i have a video recording of my recent surgery my pupil was so large i could see how far out of the bag the whole lens was and im just the patient. its just sad how the original surgeon didnt say anything about it after the first exchange. i also found it strange how the dr didnt visit with me after the surgery and he redilated the eye immediately.
julielyn
Posted
one week follow up.
the first few days were challenging to do "nothing" . the opaquness didn't clear up until monday, i told family members it was looking through plastic. my near vision is 20/25(not sure what it is on the j scale) and very clear, my distance is still a bit fuzzy and i would say 20/40 is the best visual outcome right now although the tech said i could make out 20/25. i struggled with the o's c's and d's p's and f's were hard to make out as well. the OD was really happy with one week results she was the prep dr, and in the surgery room, but did not perform the surgery itself. i did not see my surgeon this visit, i will request him at my one month follow up dec 7. i was able to make the drive solo, its @3hrs one way, so i made a day of it, making a few stops along the way. i discussed exchanging the left eye also with the OD, and she advises to wait until fully healed with right eye before proceeding. my left eye has settled at 20/40, and even though i have multifocal lenses i am not able to read without glasses, same as before surgery +2.50. so ive got some mini monovision going on, and i dont like it--depth perception is not to my liking, and im constantly comparing eyes. i know thats a big no no, but thats what im doing. all in all im pleased with the whole experience. i will be on durezol for the next 3 weeks ( 2 drops daily this week, then down to one drop daily for the remaining 2 weeks) and ilevro one drop daily for 5 more weeks. i can resume normal activity today and will be headed to work shortly