Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Post-Op Update and Upcoming Surgery #6

Last week we took Hazel in to see her glaucoma specialist, Dr Smith, to get an accurate measure of her eye pressure and look at the progress of her pressure-relieving surgeries.  The best case scenario would be that Dr Smith does an EUA (Exam Under Anesthesia) and tells us that the previous surgeries were a success and that her eye pressures were in the goal range of less than 20.  What actually ended up happening was closer to worst case scenario.  Hazel's eye pressures were both in the mid-30s and scar tissue had formed in her eyes which had negated the passages that Dr Smith had created in her eyes to help fluid drain out.  As a reference, these are the options we determined are best for fighting Hazel's glaucoma....

1.  Control eye pressure with eye drops and see if pressure decreases naturally as she grows.  

  • Result: Failed -- The glaucoma was too aggressive to be controlled long term with drops.


2.  Additional surgery to both eyes to create passage ways which will aid in fluid drainage and be a long-term solution for pressure control.  

  • Result: Failed -- scar tissue formed over the passages and pressure is rising again even with eye drops.


3.  Plate and tube shunt.  A small plate is placed on both eyes, which is connected to a tube...an opening is created for the tube to be placed inside the eye and draw out fluid which dissipates into her body.

4.  [Out of options]

Last week we took the initial steps for option 3, resorting to a plate and tube.  This option is the higher risk because it involves placing foreign objects in the eye and a path must be created for the tube to go inside the eye.  There is a narrow area for Dr Smith to place the tube without hitting Hazel's cornea, lens, iris or causing structural damage.  Last Thursday Hazel had surgery to place a plate on both of her eyes and the path was created inside her left eye for the tube.  Both plates have been placed on her eyes....but only the left eye has a tube inside the eye at this time.  We will have to go back in 5 weeks +/- to do surgery on the right eye to insert the tube.  This will be eye surgery number six for Hazel...2 cornea transplants, 2 failed pressure relief surgeries and now 2 plate/tube placements.

The good news is that the plate and tube option is almost guaranteed to work....but the flip side of the coin is the higher risks involved for placing the plate and tube.  Before the surgery her eye pressures were at 35 and 37...at today's checkup her eye pressure was 13 in the left and 35 in the right.  This is a big deal for her vision and long term outlook -- Hazel's eye pressure hasn't been below 20 since she was three weeks old.  We're making progress but it is accompanied by risk.

Hazel's eyes will be bloodshot for a few more weeks and we are dealing with some swelling that looks pretty nasty.  Through it all, she is in good spirits and does not seem as bothered by her eyes as we thought she would.  We are trying to stay focused on all the other things a 7 month old needs to do: work on sitting on her own, eating solid foods, establishing a sleep schedule and other developmental benchmarks...but its hard to do it all.  

I will update the blog if anything new happens or when the surgery date is scheduled for the right eye.  Sometimes they don't give us much notice for the surgery date and other times we have a few weeks notice.  I can't write a post without thanking everyone who is praying for our daughter and showering us with support...it really does mean a lot!


Hazel the day after surgery


2 comments:

  1. No need to have to post! Praying all the time for your precious Hazel and y'all!!! We'll keep the prayers going each day. Asking God for healing, peace, no pain, and a happy baby that can get into her normal routines VERY soon! Hugs to all!
    Lolo (Laurie (Hines) Kendrick) (And my mom and aunt are Hazel prayer warriors, too!)

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  2. Thank you for sharing the news. Praying for Hazel and her precious family, that encouragement will come when you need it most. Anne Neyland

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