Help Guidelines for Members Awaiting Surgery
Things you might want to do at home before and after the operation:-
1. Prepare your room with fresh linen and extra pillows so you are not having to do this when you return.
2. Get in your favorite DVDs, or music to listen to.
3. Do any heavy tasks before you go into hospital (kitty litter tray etc).
4. Make some small meals and freeze them so you will not be standing; cutting and cooking. Handy when you have to take your meds.
5. Make sure that you have frozen veggies for the swelling, some members prefer frozen corn as they find that it comforts the face better, most use frozen peas. Using frozen veg can be better than using hard ice-packs. Wrap them in a face cloth and put on the swollen eye (if it is) for 20 minutes. 10-20 minutes off. Write "Eye pack" on it so it doesn't get used in cooking.
6. Sometimes at the beginning, the hurt/pain goes away during the day but comes back at night, that's just swelling. Again just use the veggies (20 minutes on, 20minutes off).
7. No jerky head-movements (very painful).
8. Don't be afraid of using painkillers.. some of us have more hurt than others.
The key is to keep ahead of it. It doesn't last long.. for some of us a couple of days, for some a little more than a week.
9. Pain meds should be taken "on schedule" as much as possible, around the same time each day/night.
10. Arrange for some help the first few days of your recovery if you need it.
A few causes of Post Op Pain
1. The degree of difficulty the procedure posed during surgery including the condition of the eye, previous surgeries or trauma, amount of adjacent tissue that may require removal, etc.
2. Swelling of adjacent structures-e.g, eyelids, conjunctivae
3. Any suturing that may have been performed
4. Post op dressing - The pressure of the patch against the eyelids against the conformer against the recently sutured layers of eye tissues against the implant (all pressed together when the patch is tightly taped on that side of the face.
5. Sensitivity of the orbital nerves after surgery
6. A "generic" conformer in a swollen socket (especially rubbing against the swollen conjunctiva) may be another source of discomfort
7. Some patients have a much lower pain threshold than others. That's not a bad thing but just unfortunate for those that have a low threshold.
Generally expect to feel 100% better the day after surgery when the patch is removed and ice compresses can be applied for the next 36 hours
Nausea
Post-op nausea frequently occurs when the eye muscles are sewn to the porous implants or pulled and/or stretched around an implant. Manipulation of the eye muscles can cause nausea as well as other systemic systems (eg, slow the heart rate). The best way to manage the pain and nausea is with pain meds and anti-nausea medications. Take them when needed and know that in the vast majority of patients both symptoms are usually gone in a few days to a week.
The best management is to follow your surgeon's postop instructions
Timeline for fitting a prosthetic eye
1. day of surgery,
2. 1-week postop visit,
3. patient goes home and makes an appointment with the ocularist for late morning or early afternoon to coincide with the next appointment with their surgeon (3-4 weeks postop),
4. 3-week postop visit with surgeon in the early morning then goes directly to the ocularist,
5. ocularist usually gives patient a temporary prosthesis or conformer, usually looks as good as the permanent. (plastic conformers come in generic sizes ; small, medium and large),
6. 1-2 weeks later the patient gets their permanent prosthesis (depending on how busy the ocularist is),
7. return to see the surgeon 2-3 weeks after permanent prosthesis.
Obviously, the timeline can change if there are any unforeseen complications along the way. Some patients have had to wait as long as 5 weeks for the socket to fully heal which will prolong the above process. The timeline may differ slightly between different countries.
Fitting of the prosthesis
Posted by a member from LE. (Chemgal), following her visit.
1.They will take an oral history for their records and then they will remove your conformer.
2.They will replace the conformer with another one that has a tip facing out. This will feel a little odd because you won't be able to close your eye lid all the way - but it doesn't hurt.
3. They will then put a cold molding material in and have you move your "eye" to the left, to the right, up and down
4. They will remove this and then someone else will start painting your iris. It looks like a washer and they will find a washer with the right opening to match your pupil. They will hold this up to your face a lot of times and ask you to look at their finger, this way they can be sure to get a good match from each angle.
5. In the meantime, the other person is making a wax mold and may have to be sliding it in and out of your socket a few times to check the fit.
6. This might feel strange but it does not hurt.
Following this procedure you will have a good break . You may want to go for a coffee and a snack nearby. This will give you a chance to rest a little.
7. After the break you return to the ocularists office and they check the fit of the eye and then they paint the finer details on the eye like blood vessels. This is a neat process to watch! This takes about 30 minutes followed by another 2 hours break.
Prepare yourself with these items:
Appropriate clothing for outside weather, just in case you want to walk out side for a break.
Also wear comfortable clothing for the day.There are usually a few sessions with in and out fittings, so food, drink, music or a talking book will see you through nicely if you have them bring them along.
Analgesics for a headache if such arises.
Movement of a prosthesis
There are a number of factors that affect the movement of a prosthesis:
1. the conditions of the muscles that move the eye,
2. the relationship of the implant to the socket,
3. the size of the implant compared to the size of the socket,
4. the relationship of the prosthesis to the socket,
5. the size of the prosthesis,
6. the tension of the eyelids, etc. and these are just a few. Increased movement can be enhanced with the porous implants which can be "pegged" after surgery. This peg sticks out and fits into a dimple in the back of the prosthesis. However, an exposed peg can create a new set of potential complications with the socket.
More information regarding the preoperative, surgical and postoperative options surrounding the loss of an eye are explained in this book.
http://www.eyewasthere.info/Good luck to your recovery!
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The Moderators
This was written up by member of the site, and in no way is conclusive. It may help, but there is to be no expectation of perfect recovery. 
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