UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

i had my bp check cos im being treated for hypertention. its still too high.
i have my preop on tues and the doc says its unlikely theyll do it cos of bp.
however theres less risk if im awake so im thinking of doing it that way.
wot does it entail so i know whether to take that route if surgeon agrees.
i will be gutted if i cant have it now. getting wed next yr and aint if i cant see.

When i had my graft they asked me if i wanted to have it done while i was awake i said no but it was only a hour before i went to thearte so i wasn't prepared.
They said they would use a local anaesthetic(bad spelling i know) and a sedative.
There has been people om the forum that have used this method and i don't remember them saying anything bad about it. Maybe if you did a search you would find some info . i think one of the members was a man named Knight.
I think if it meant i could still have the op then i would just go for it.
Hope all goes well and take it easy
All the best
Anne

I know that Knight had his graft under a local anesthetic. I think that he is out of the country just now, but he seemed quite to enjoy the experience.

I am not sure that I'd have been so brave.

I also have high blood pressure. Most anesthetists have a cut off point for bp beyond which they will not readily administer a general anesthetic, but I think that this varies slightly from consultant to consultant.

All the best. I hope that things do go forward for you.

Andrew

Hi Cherishu,

With 7 kids (I wont ask!) I think I would have hypertension!

I'm not far behind you on the operation calendar - I have intacs op for my right eye coming up in November.

I've also had two ops for double vision and on both occasions I had the general anesthetic. On coming around from the op I found the anesthetic to be the worst bit - I felt groggy, wanted to be sick and generally (no pun intended) out of it for a few days - I could cope with my eye surgery, just not the lethargic feeling.

It also seemed to be the main reason for keeping me in hospital after the op - not the condition of the eye - but to see how well I was reacting to the anesthetic.

I'd say its pretty usual practice aswell, I remember Mr. Daya, the intacs specialist at this years conference saying that most intacs ops (I know intacs not as intrusive as a graft) were done under local anesthetic.

So I am seriously considering having my intacs inserted under local but I like you am not sure if its for me. With local anesthetic for anything else at least you can close your eyes or look away.

I suppose you could ask the surgeon to stick a big big sign on the ceiling that says "WEDDING" on it so you can remember why you're doing it

MMM, am I being of help here?

Does anyone else on the group have 1st hand experience of eye ops under local anesthetic that can help me and Cherishu?

Thanks in advance

Ed

Hi Cherishu

I have had three eye ops this year, two for cataracts and one detached retina, all done under local anaethetics, I take blood pressure tablets and my pressure was normal for the cataracts but sky high for the retina, probably because of the shock at having an emergency op. As the op was under a local I suppose it was ok to proceed.

If the sensations for a graft are similar, then for my part I would choose a local. The good eye was covered and all I could see were brights lights and instruments moving around; a little weird but quite interesting. I have no idea if this would be similar for a graft though.

All the best for your op whenever it takes place.

Cherishu,

Hope I didn't hijack your post (sorreee) and big hopes that it goes well tomorrow. Will be thinking of you and hoping for the best.

Ed

Last time I was in hospital for minor surgery, a lady in the bed opposite (yup, in the midlands we have mixed wards ) was told her blood pressure was too high. She quickly called her husband and asked for her hypnotherapy relaxation tape which he duly deliverd. When wher blood pressure was taken again, it had come down enough for the doctors to be happy to proceed.

Give alternative medicine a go.

Actuallu, I read somewhere that being at a hospital clinic can be so stressful that blood pressure can soar. Gareth's solution sounds like a really good idea.

(Confidentially: when my daughter was born, I visited my wife in the Maternity Hospital. She was in an eight bed cottage hospital in Aberdeen.

When I walked onto the ward somebody said "Man on the ward", to warn all the new mums that they ought to be careful lest they found themselves embarassed by an encounter with an unexpected man. I was a little hurt to hear the next sentence; "Oh, it's all right. It's only a Minister". I don't know what would be the impact on my equilibrium of bing put in a mixed ward).

Andrew