Amniotic Membrane Transplantation

[DESTINY]

has anyone had amniotic membrane surgery?

Hello, I am new to the web site and I would like to know if nayone has had the amniotic membrane surgery? I am going to have the surgery next month with Dr. Tseng and would like to know what to expect. I have severe dry eye and redness that has haunted me for about two years. I have had a pingueculea removed and been diagnosed with blepharitis. I have been using the tea tree essential oil weekly along with the tea tree shampoo every day twice daily. When I had the pingueculea removed I developed some wrinkling of the conjunctiva and now I am contemplating surgery. I would like to know if anyone has had success with this surgery. I will let everyone know after I do it whether it is good or not!

Destiny

[Rebecca Petris]

For whatever reason there don't seem to be many people 'out there' on the internet talking about amniotic membrane transplantation results. The very few reports I've heard personally are pretty mixed. It is my personal opinion that before undertaking a relatively experimental, as well as costly, surgery, it is reasonable to ask the clinic to put you in touch with others who have had it done so that get a better understanding of the process, what to expect, and what the results were like for people in a similar condition prior to surgery.

[Rebecca Petris]

p.s. Just realized you're a new member... Welcome to Dry Eye Talk! And yes by all means please let us know how it goes!

[DESTINY]

Thank You For Your Reply!

Rebecca,

I Will Definatly Let You Know How It Goes. Also, Thank You For The Info That You Shared. I Will Ask Dr. Tseng's Staff To Put Me In Touch With A Few People That Have Undergone The Surgery. Again, Thank You For The Advise!

Destiny

[Lucy]

From LaserMyEye

There is much info from a sister website, or step-sister once removed website:



http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/sea...searchid=26844

[DESTINY]

Sister web site

Hello and thank you for the link to the other web site. I tried to go on and I couldn't find any posts regarding the amniotic membrane transplant. Where is the info posted on the site?

Thank you,
Destiny

[Lucy]

Destiny, I went to the www.Lasermyeye.org site and went to Main Forum:
Then did search : amniotic membrane
You'll get two (I did) threads of comments on this procedure.
I've tried to link you to one of the threads brought up by my search, but it didn't work last time, and tried again.

http://www.lasermyeye.org/forums/sho...iotic+membrane

1. Main forum
2. Search: amniotic membrane

Good luck. You'll turn up info. If I can do it, anyone can. It does not "copy" over though apparently.

[DESTINY]

Amniotic membrane

Thank you very much for all of your help! I will definatly post my results to anyone who wants to know!

Thanks again,
Destiny

[np1981]

Yes keep us posted. I too was diagnosed with chalasis and was considering AMT.

[Lucy]

NP---------so, what's your take on amniotic membrane transplant so far?
It's been talked about for several years, at least. We know of several (or more) people who have actually had the process done, but yet do not hear the shouting from the rooftops.

If it wasn't so utterly and profoundly expensive, I'm sure more of us would consider at least looking into it. Please proceed with caution and let us know if/when you decide to do anything.

[np1981]

Lucy,

Since being diagnosed I've learned that conjunctivochalasis can be quite common, and will not always cause a problem for most people. I recently saw a Doctor in the UK who has experiance treating chalasis and he didn't think it was severe enough to cause my symptoms. At the moment I am not going to consider AMT for a long while, I may not have it done at all.

Having said that, the few patients I have talked to so far say that while it isn't a miracule cure, they notice a significant improvement in comfort and redness and seem to recommend it. I guess people who go for it shouldn't always expect complete resolution of symtoms, but should see some improvement. Whether there is enough of an improvement to justify the cost is the question.

Since having punctum plugs inserted my eyes are more moist, and I am hoping that together with warm compresses and Doxycycline, I can control the symptoms without needing surgery (I have both aqueous & lipid problems, and posterior blepharitis). In my case the chalasis may not be a hugely significant factor for me.

Nik

[DESTINY]

Amniotic Membrane

Np,

How many people have you talked to that have done the surgery? I would love to talk to them, or read what you have read. I have been diagnosed with Bleparitis and also have a bad lipid layer. Since all of this my eyes are always red and scratchy and I can't take it any longer! That is why Dr. Tseng recommended the surgery. He said that when your eyes are inflamed all of the time your cell membrane becomes degenerative and that is when all of the chronic problems persist.

Something called Cytokines are produced and it breaks down your membrane. So by replacing your old inflamed membrane with a fresh one I guess it is supposed to get your eyes as back to normal as they can be. I feel like I have been messing around for 1 1/2 years now with crappy dr's that don't know anything and that is why my eyes have gotten so bad! I feel like if I would have just gone to see Dr. Tseng 1 1/2 years ago he probably would have caught the Bleparitis then and fixed it and I would be o.k by now.

I don't know about you but my dry eyes seemed to get bad over night! It is like I just woke up one morning with red eyes and never went back! I am lucky however because my Insurance is paying for 90% of my surgery and that is why I am going to move forward with the procedure. If someone reads this thread that is just starting to have dry eye symptoms I would sugjest to them to make the trip no matter how far to see a specialist! Don't get caught in the 3 eye dr. appointments a month to get told to use artificial tears!

Destiny