INTRA OCULAR OPHTHALMOPLEGIA
I HAVE HAD INTRA OCULAR OPHTHALMOPLEGIA. AFFECTING BOTH EYES SINCE BIRTH. I HAVE NO LATERAL EYE MOVEMENTS & DIFFICULTY CLOSING BOTH EYES DUE TO NERVE PALSIES. I DO HAVE MOBIUS SYNDROME.
I HAVE HAD BILATERAL CATARACT SURGERY WITH INTRAOCULAR IMPLANTS. BECAUSE OF MY YOUNG AGE I DEVELOPED SECONDARY CATARACTS REQUIRING YAG LASER SURGERY 4 MONTHS AFTER MY ORIGINAL CATARACT SURGERY.
EVEN THOUGH I HAD OPHTHAMOPLEGIA BEFORE SURGERY, I WAS ABLE TO READ. FOLLOWING MY SURGERY I NOTICED INTERMITTENT PERIODS OF BLURRED VISION DURING MY DOWNWARD GAZE WHILE READING. I THEN WENT TO A NEURO OPHTHALMOLOGIST WHO DIAGNOSED ME AS HAVING DIPLOPIA (DOUBLE VISION).
I HAVE BEEN FROM DOCTOR TO DOCTOR TRYING TO FIND THE CAUSE ;HOWEVER, NO ONE IS WILLING TO SAY EXACTLY WHY DIPLOPIA HAS DEVELOPED.
I DID SOME INDEPENDENT RESEARCH WHICH YEILDED SOME POSSIBILITIES WHICH I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE. BRIEFLY: DAMAGE COULD BE DONE WHEN INJECTING ANESTHESIA INTO THE MUSCLES OF THE EYE WHILE PREPING THE EYE FOR CATARACT SURGERY. GETTING MORE COMPLICATED: BOTH PERIBULAR INJECTION INTO THE LEFT INFERIOR RECTUS OR RETROBULAR ANESTHESIA INJECTED ALONG THE INFERIOR RECTUS MUSCLES COULD CAUSE OCULOMOTOR DYSFUNCTION.
ALSO INTRAOCULAR LENSE IMPLANTS COULD CAUSE ONE EYE TO DEVIATE CAUSING DIPLOPIA.
INTRAOCULAR IMPLANTS COULD ALSO CAUSE GLARE SENSITIVITY WHEN WATCHING TV OR WHEN USING THE COMPUTER AS IS MY CASE.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT AN EVALUATION OF BINOCULAR VISION & EYE MOVEMENTS NEEDS TO BE DONE WHEN CONSIDERING CATARACT SURGERY. THERE ARE AT LEAST 3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANESTHESIA THAT CAN BE ADMINISTERED DURING CATARACT SURGERY. EYE MOVEMENT DISORDER APPEARS TO BE A RARE CONDITION THAT MANY DOCTORS ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH. PLEASE DISCUSS THE POSSIBLE COMPLICATION THAT INJECTED ANESTHESIA COULD CAUSE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT INJECTED ANESTHESIA IS DONE WITH ASSISTED ANESTHESIA (MAC) WHILE THE PATIENT IS SEDATED & AWAKE. . IT MAY BE THAT A TOPICAL ANESTHIA TO THE EYE CAN BE DONE PREVENTING FURTHER DETERIORATION OF MUSCLE FUNCTION DURING A GENERAL ANESTHESIA WHEN THE PATIENT IS ASLEEP.
BE CAREFUL WHEN CHOOSING A DOCTOR & MAKE SURE THIS DOCTOR HAS HAD EXPERIENCE WITH MUSCLE DYSFUNCTION. I WAS LED TO BELIEVE THAT CATARACT SURGERY WAS DONE ROUTINELY WITH A MINIMUM OF COMPLICATIONS. BE ASSERTIVE & DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS.
I DID RESEARCH & ASKED ALL THE RIGHT QUESTIONS IN THE REALM OF CATARACT SURGERY REGARDING AN OTHERWISE HEALTHY EYE. MY DOCTOR WAS SADLY UNAWARE OF THE ADDITIONAL RISKS OF THIS OUT PATIENT SURGERY. WHEN COMPLICATIONS AROSE, HE WAS ALSO EAGER TO RELEASE ME FROM HIS CARE. HE WAS ALSO QUICK TO DOCCUMENT THAT CATARACT SURGERY WAS SUCCESSFUL. IT'S A CASE OF CYA.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OUT THERE CONTIMPLATING SURGERY.