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Aaron’s Eye Surgery

June 27th, 2008 · Comments · Exotropia, Family

Aaron’s intermittent exotropia I discussed previously has been getting progressively worse. Meri and I have both been noticing that he is squinting more and more, even when he’s not outside in full sun and even when he’s wearing sunglasses.  Meri and I have had a bad feeling about what we both [pessimistically] thought would need to happen next.

Meri took him to the ophthalmologist again yesterday to have him re-examined (since it’s been 6 months since he was first diagnosed) The doctor is one of the best in the area (from what we’ve been told).  Meri works in an ER and has spoken with several opthamalogists that stroll through there and they recommend him (and more importantly, use him).

The doctor looked at Aaron’s eyes and told Meri that his condition was deteriorating. He told her that the only solution for Aaron’s case was to have the corrective surgery.  We knew this day was coming and have talked about what we should do next.  We’ve done a lot of research and have both anguished about this decision for a long time - we decided that Aaron should finally have the surgery.

I can’t speak for Meri, but I am not fearful that the doctor won’t do a good job and I am fully expecting that the surgery will be successful.  We are both very worried about Aaron having to be sedated for the surgery. Meri working in the medical for so long is both a blessing and a curse in that she knows a lot about what to expect.  Knowledge can be power but it can also be crippling, especially in the case of surgery for one of your kids.  While the surgery is not exactly necessary (in my understanding anyway), if successful, it would greatly improve Aaron’s quality of life.

So the surgery is scheduled for just under two weeks away (July 10th).  We have a pre-op appointment 7 days before the surgery so that we can hear about all of the details. Meri spoke briefly about recovery time and the doctur said that it would only be a few hours for Aaron, but he couldn’t go to the pool or play with sand for a week after the surgery.

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    Hi. I was just browsing about exotropia surgery and came across your blog. Hope it's not rude to comment to someone I don't know. My almost 4-year-old had the surgery to correct his intermittent exotropia in both eyes last Thursday. It was a little scary (for me) but he did fine. The worst part was immediately after the surgery when he came out of sedation. He was crying a lot and complaining of pain and his eyes were full of bloody tears. But all that's to be expected. They gave him some more pain med & let me rock him and he settled down & went back to sleep within about fifteen minutes. He recovered for a few hours in the hospital (mostly sleeping) and got progressively better. By the time we left that day he was opening his eyes and they were looking better. The next day he was practically back to normal. He complains occasionally of pain or itchiness, for which we give him Tylenol. His eyes look straight and he has resumed all normal activities and seems fine. They're still very red in the outer corners but I understand that will clear up within 2 to 3 weeks. The stitches dissolve on their own and I expect a good report when we go to our follow-up exam next Monday. Just thought it might help to hear from someone who had been through it successfully. It definitely seems to me it was worthwhile and I pray that your son has a successful surgery as well.
    Becky, mom in Ohio
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    Becky,
    Thanks so much for replying. My wife and I are especially worried about him being sedated for the surgery. I'm very glad to hear that your son's surgery was successful. It's always good to hear about how these types of things go. Did the doctor mention that there might be pain and itchiness in the eyes following the surgery? Is that a normal thing to expect?

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