Hi everyone,
After a long nine months with floaters that have gotten progressively worse for me to deal with, I've decided to have an FOV on my right eye on Wed., Dec. 21. I want to thank all of you for the insights you've shared during my tenure on the forum. Without you, I would have never accumulated the information I needed to arrive at this decision.
Special thanks to you, rfsapiens, because I can always count on you for words of encouragement, hope and silly faced icons that make me smile! I am hoping that your next surgery finally gives you the relief you deserve.
Special thanks to you, Art, for reaching out to me during my early days on this board and for your no-nonsense approach to weighing the pros and cons.
Special thanks to you, Fishmoon, for your scientific and thoughtful approach to this disease.
And special thanks to you, Shimmer. If it weren't for you, I would have never found my surgeon. You lent a sympathetic ear when I was going through some tough deliberations about having this surgery.
I'm especially grateful to you, AlexO and Cephei, for posting your recent FOV experiences. I am so encouraged and inspired by your bravery, recovery and your new lives sans floaters!
Borrowing from AlexO's FOV post format, here are the details of my surgery:
- St. Luke's Hospital, Chesterfield, MO (suburb of St. Louis, MO, USA)
- Outpatient
- PVD induced (I may have a partial PVD)
- 23g sutureless with air bubble
- Local anesthetic with monitored sedation
My surgeon has asked me not to post his name on this board, but I will tell you a little bit about him because I think he is a rare find among doctors. He has been described to me as being conservative and ethical. He has performed more than 2,000 vitrectomies over his 25-year career. He has been extremely patient with me as I asked him a myriad of questions about his surgical technique, his overall experience and his recent experience doing FOV. At my request, he even made contact with his recent FOV patient to see if she'd call me to tell me about her experience, and she did. He had no problem doing the diagnostic tests I'd read about (3D OCT and B-scan ultrasound). He even agreed to take care of me post-surgery if I'd opted to have Dr. Sipperley do my FOV out of town.
He opererates in a special retina surgical suite at a hospital that always ranks in the 100 top hospitals in the U.S. He works with the same team of assistants there. He says he operates in a hospital rather than in a surgery center because he feels like there are no attempts to sacrifice patient care in order to save money. He even cleans his patient's eyes himself with povidone-iodine solution during surgical prep because he wants to make sure it's done to his exacting standards. He thinks sterile technique and good hygiene are the keys to preventing infection, but of course, he'll use antibiotic ointments and drops post-surgery, too.
He's also an instructor for vitreoretinal surgical fellows, but he has assured me that he will not let them have any part in my surgery - they'll be there for observation only. He practices in a group with 9 other vitreoretinal surgeons and someone is always on call in case I have an emergency.
Well, that's all I can think of to report at the moment. I'm nervous, but I've made up my mind to move forward, and I'm at peace with my decision right now. Oh, also, I did enlist the help of a psychologist to help me make this decision -- thanks to you, Jenks, for posting that you'd consulted with one.
I'll provide an update as soon as I can post surgery. Please wish me luck, and those of you who believe in a higher being, I'd appreciate you keeping me and my surgical team in your prayers on Wed. 7:30 a.m. Central Standard Time!
Take care,
Stringyeye
After a long nine months with floaters that have gotten progressively worse for me to deal with, I've decided to have an FOV on my right eye on Wed., Dec. 21. I want to thank all of you for the insights you've shared during my tenure on the forum. Without you, I would have never accumulated the information I needed to arrive at this decision.
Special thanks to you, rfsapiens, because I can always count on you for words of encouragement, hope and silly faced icons that make me smile! I am hoping that your next surgery finally gives you the relief you deserve.
Special thanks to you, Art, for reaching out to me during my early days on this board and for your no-nonsense approach to weighing the pros and cons.
Special thanks to you, Fishmoon, for your scientific and thoughtful approach to this disease.
And special thanks to you, Shimmer. If it weren't for you, I would have never found my surgeon. You lent a sympathetic ear when I was going through some tough deliberations about having this surgery.
I'm especially grateful to you, AlexO and Cephei, for posting your recent FOV experiences. I am so encouraged and inspired by your bravery, recovery and your new lives sans floaters!
Borrowing from AlexO's FOV post format, here are the details of my surgery:
- St. Luke's Hospital, Chesterfield, MO (suburb of St. Louis, MO, USA)
- Outpatient
- PVD induced (I may have a partial PVD)
- 23g sutureless with air bubble
- Local anesthetic with monitored sedation
My surgeon has asked me not to post his name on this board, but I will tell you a little bit about him because I think he is a rare find among doctors. He has been described to me as being conservative and ethical. He has performed more than 2,000 vitrectomies over his 25-year career. He has been extremely patient with me as I asked him a myriad of questions about his surgical technique, his overall experience and his recent experience doing FOV. At my request, he even made contact with his recent FOV patient to see if she'd call me to tell me about her experience, and she did. He had no problem doing the diagnostic tests I'd read about (3D OCT and B-scan ultrasound). He even agreed to take care of me post-surgery if I'd opted to have Dr. Sipperley do my FOV out of town.
He opererates in a special retina surgical suite at a hospital that always ranks in the 100 top hospitals in the U.S. He works with the same team of assistants there. He says he operates in a hospital rather than in a surgery center because he feels like there are no attempts to sacrifice patient care in order to save money. He even cleans his patient's eyes himself with povidone-iodine solution during surgical prep because he wants to make sure it's done to his exacting standards. He thinks sterile technique and good hygiene are the keys to preventing infection, but of course, he'll use antibiotic ointments and drops post-surgery, too.
He's also an instructor for vitreoretinal surgical fellows, but he has assured me that he will not let them have any part in my surgery - they'll be there for observation only. He practices in a group with 9 other vitreoretinal surgeons and someone is always on call in case I have an emergency.
Well, that's all I can think of to report at the moment. I'm nervous, but I've made up my mind to move forward, and I'm at peace with my decision right now. Oh, also, I did enlist the help of a psychologist to help me make this decision -- thanks to you, Jenks, for posting that you'd consulted with one.
I'll provide an update as soon as I can post surgery. Please wish me luck, and those of you who believe in a higher being, I'd appreciate you keeping me and my surgical team in your prayers on Wed. 7:30 a.m. Central Standard Time!
Take care,
Stringyeye

