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Deciding whether and when to have the surgery of a corneal transplant is one of the most "Catch 22" situations anybody has to face.
There's the question of
finding an eye surgeon to trust with one of your most important abilities - vision. Actually, that is not so difficult once you begin to study Fuchs' and research corneal specialists in your area. But if you live in a remote area, it can become a serious issue.
Our members have had their transplants sooner or later, based on how much their vision loss has impacted their everyday lives. Nobody can make
the decision about when to have the transplant except the patient and the doctor. Most doctors tell us that when our quality of life is such that we are
constantly struggling just to function, it is time. There is a delicate balancing act that goes on, because a corneal transplant requires a very long healing time before vision is improved. The stitches required may need to be adjusted until the new cornea has healed and can be smoothed enough to rid the patient of double and triple vision.
Here's one member's description of post-transplant vision:
"There is a faint shadow by every letter. Sometimes above, sometimes below. I
am not doing so well seeing at a distance. Everything doubles and quadruples. My eyes seem to change every day. My Fuchs' eye does not seem to coordinate with my T-eye. Looked at the full moon tonight and saw at least 6 of them stacked on top of each other, plus a couple hanging on the side! What a light show! Driving at night is almost impossible. All the lights go wild. Big spikes coming out of all sides. And then seeing 2 or 4 of them to boot."
There are few surgeries that require so much optimism and patience as a corneal transplant. You may have to dedicate an entire year of your
life to the complete healing of your transplant and regained vision. It is tempting to think you can still "get by" for awhile before having the transplant.
Often one eye is more disabled than the other. If you wait until both eyes are useless, you can plan to put your life on hold for a long time
before you can function normally again after the transplant.
It's devastating to Fuchs' sufferers to lose their ability to drive or do their jobs when they still need to make a living, or when they get to
the point where they can't live a normal life anymore because of the foggies or blister pain.
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