Retracted Lid Surgery

[Seavie]

Hi!

I just wanted to post my greatest improvement so far - I just had orbital implants installed, + lid retraction repair

I have had very dry eyes for over two years; I think I got a 1 and a 2 on the Schirmer test! Like most of you, I'm sure, I saw a lot of very depressing and unhelpful doctors. I ran down a lot of rabbit trails.

Finally I found a team of specialists relatively nearby! I visited the Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore (I live in DC). I saw Dr. Prescott, who told me that my lower lids are retracted. She pointed out that I have white space between my irises and lower lids - apparently your lids are supposed to touch or partially cover them! She also tested my eyes under that blue light, and said that the dryness seems to be focused in a line across my lower eyes, where the lids would be staying open at night.

I did know that my eyes weren't closing at night, and it was very painful! Those goggles didn't work for me, or the saran wrap, or the gel, etc etc. I also felt a "sunburn" feeling in the lower outer corners of my eyes.

Two weeks ago I had the surgery with Dr. Rivera to prop up my lower eyelids. At first I was CURED, and running around with white eyes like a madman! - now I think the dramatic improvement was due to the prednisone gel I was squeezing into my eyes! My eyes are kind of back to being red/gritty again but I've reduced my eye drop usage from every half hour to about 3/4 times a day, which is still huge for me. My eyes are also a lot less painful.

I know that I had significant corneal damage from the dry eyes/not closing/contact lenses, which will definitely take time to heal. Maybe that is why some symptoms still linger. But I am very optimistic about this surgery! I'm seeing the doctor again on the 11th and will update this thread then

I have to say that it is great to look in the mirror at work after not having used eye drops for hours, and my eyes aren't terrifying! They've gone from red to pink. Here's hoping that fades to white soon

[Seavie]

I just wanted to update! It's a great update!

As my eyelids healed, that redness and grittiness I was feeling disappeared. My corneas turned white, and they don't hurt anymore. I never use eyedrops anymore! I'm done!

My eye doctor, Dr. Christina Prescott, examined me again about two weeks ago and told me my eyes were now completely normal Two years of dry eye goggles, lacriserts, restastis, are all gone! I don't have to carry around eye drops anymore. I have a box of Restasis I'll never use. I feel great. I can't believe I'm one of those people who doesn't have to think about their eyes all day!

To anyone whose lower lids seem kind of droopy - if you have white under your irises - your eyes may not be completely closing. This was the cause of my dry eye (finally, a cause!) and fixing it was my solution. My cure

[soaps]

Wow . my eyes r very similar but i do have big eyes . did u have mgd ? Does urs dr think this works for lasik dry eyes ? Also i can't use steroids so i wonder wat else u could use post surgery ?My eyes were mildly dry pre lasik and i never knew . perhaps this was cause . i am so frightened of more surgery but also of not getting better .
would love it if u keep us posted even every now and then.

[bunnyrabbit123]

Seavie,
Can you elaborate? What exactly is an orbital implant? What did they do to you? I have the same thing going on with the lower lids( scleral show, I believe it's called) but was told by the local oculoplastic guy that I didn't want to have this surgery unless absolutley necessary- I also have large eyes and lid problems. Right now, I'm getting over surgery on the uppers to lift them out of line of vision-

[Seavie]

Seavie,
Can you elaborate? What exactly is an orbital implant? What did they do to you? I have the same thing going on with the lower lids( scleral show, I believe it's called) but was told by the local oculoplastic guy that I didn't want to have this surgery unless absolutley necessary- I also have large eyes and lid problems. Right now, I'm getting over surgery on the uppers to lift them out of line of vision-

I got implants in my lower eyelids, basically, to prop them up and keep them in the correct position. They're now in a higher position, and cover the lower part of my irises. They're made of Enduragen, which comes from pigs! They don't stick out or look funny. Sometimes even I forget that I have implants there!

My doctor also tried to get me to start using scleral lenses instead of this surgery (thinking it was too extreme or something) but I thought, if this is potentially the solution, why would I wait? I may only be 25 but I've had plenty of surgeries (other health issues), and I'm not frightened, so I might as well go for it. My insurance covered it completely.

I too have large eyes, almost everyone in my mother's family does because they are middle eastern. My eyes kind of had a sad/droopy shape before, and now they are more of an almond shape, like my mother's eyes I look fantastic now, I think!

[Seavie]

Hi Soaps - I will keep you guys posted every now and then, and will try to answer everyone's questions I did have to use pred-g (prednisone + antibiotic gel) on my eyelids for a few weeks post surgery, and it helped a lot, mostly because I ended up having an allergic reaction to the vicryl sutures

I was never officially diagnosed with MGD before although I did suspect I had it before learning my lids were too low.. and my eyes are still kind dryish in a minor way now (my doctor said they were probably always a little dry, genetically) so I guess my answer is maybe!