Five Hours Post Surgery -- A Frightening Experience

When I arrived at Northwest Eye Surgeons I was taken to the clinic for a quick set of eye measurements. The had me look into a machine that had a red light that would shine into each eye several times. The nurse printed out a report and I was taken to the surgery center.

My husband, son and eldest daughter were with me today. It was great to have them present during this stretch of my journey. When I was called back for the surgery, I had to leave them behind in the waiting room.

I waited quite a while after getting some antibiotic drops put in my eye and my IV put in. The anesthesiologist brought me back into a room with a chair. She gave me some Versed to calm and relax me. Then she proceeded to inject my eye with medication to numb it. With the Versed, this was quite a tolerable process.

I then was brought to operating room, placed in a reclining chair and was attached to all of the usual monitoring gauges. Dr. Cadera entered and a number of nurses were present to assist with the surgery. A plastic drape was applied to my face, over my right eye. They placed a cone near my nose to create a space for me to breathe easily. Dr. Cadera carefully cut a slit in the plastic and placed my eye in some sort of clamp to keep it open. All of this was quite tolerable, as I was virtually numb in my eye and face.

I was fully conscious and able to converse with the doctor during the entire procedure. Although I could see instruments come into my view, they were not clear but appeared as if I were in a dream. I make out the scalpel, the sutchers, the scissors and the various hooks and needles. I could watch him cauterize my blood vessels and move instruments in and out of my field of view. I could feel the tugging on my eye as he applied the stitches and the pressure as he cut and poked. There was even one point in the surgery that I felt him poke into my eye with a sharp instrument. Apparently that part of my eye did not get as much of the anesthesia. It was uncomfortable, even a bit painful, but completely tolerable.

I enjoyed conversation with Dr. Cadera and his staff throughout the surgery. We engaged in small talk, discussions about my eye and speculation about why I suffered from this condition. The rest of the talk was focused on Dr. Cadera speaking with his staff as they assisted him with the surgery.

Dr. Cadera operated on two different muscles, one that controlled horizontal movement and one vertical. When he looked at the one that controlled my horizontal movement, he commented that somehow the muscle had been moved because it was not even close to where it should have been. I reminded him that I have never had eye surgery in the past and he was quite surprised. Being lodged in the birth canal for hours on end must have moved the position of my eye muscle.

The surgery itself must have lasted about 45 minutes. Dr. Cadera said he was pleased with the surgery, but cautioned me, explaining that it would take weeks for my eye to settle into position. He told me not to get too concerned when I remove my eye patch and notice that my eye is not in the right location. He said it would take about a week for things to settle down.

After surgery, I was walked to a recovery room where my IV was removed and I had a cup of coffee and a peanut butter cracker. I felt good.

Here is a photo of me just five hours post surgery. My eye is still numb with the anesthesia which may explain whey it is pointed in the wrong direction!

I video taped myself taking off the patch and opening my eye for the first time. I want to warn you...if you have a sensitive stomach, you may not want to see this.