Amniotic membrane

[vickieastwood]

Hey everyone! I'm like several of you who have eye issues due to facial paralysis after acoustic neuroma surgery. I have a gold weight in my left eyelid and have lived with extremely blurred vision due to using the pm gel 24/7 for my dry eye for the past 2 1/2 years. I've been looking into scleral lenses and found a provider near me. Last Friday she was unable to get measurements of my eye because of the damage from the dry eye. I wanted to share what she did to help heal the damage (there is no scarring yet) and to help prepare my eye for measurements and ultimately the scleral lens. My eye was deadened, then a sponge soaked up any remaining liquid and an extremely thin circle of amniotic membrane was adhered to my cornea.. The membrane will be absorbed by my eye and heal the damage. I am now wearing a weekly wear soft contact lens and using oasis tears plus every thirty minutes. My vision is clearer without the gel and my eye feels better. I return this Friday to have the contact taken out and hopefully get the scleral measurements. My Dr said that if my problem was only dry eye the amniotic membrane might ever be a permanent solution. However my eyelid doesn't consistently close so I'll probably have trouble with dry eye.  I'll try to post an update on Friday of the results. Hopefully this information will help someone out there.

[Jill Marie]

Hi Vickie,  Will mention the amniotic membrane to my eye doctor the next time I see her and see what she knows about it, thanks for sharing. Good luck with the scleral lens measurement, hope your eye is healed.  Jill

[vickieastwood]

Just got back from getting my scleral lens measurements done! My Dr was amazed at how the amniotic membrane had healed my cornea. She said again that it would probably be the solution if my blinking worked better. I'm grateful that my cornea is healed and will be ready for the scleral lens though. I'll go back on August 22nd for a fitting. I'm very excited to try them out! Thanks a Jill for the encouragement and hope this information is useful to you.

[Jill Marie]

Vicki,

 Really glad to hear your cornea healed so well with the amniotic membrane.  Now on to the scleral lens, hope it works for you like it has for several others on this board.  I had 1 for a couple of years then had to start using a daily contact lens.  Every one as you know is different so if the scleral doesn't work don't loose hope there is always something else.  I'm betting the scleral will work great for you, I think I'm the only one that had to stop using it.  In the beginning it was wonderful, gave me my life back, now the daily keeps me going great. 

I don't see my eye doctor for a while but when I do I will mention the amniotic membrane and let you know what she says. 

Please let us know how the Aug 22 visit goes and how the lens is treating you and if you have any questions about the lens.  Doctors are great but those using the lens can often help you out better then the doctor on the daily use. 

Take Care, Jill

[vickieastwood]

Thanks Jill! Will do!

[vickieastwood]

I got my scleral lenses yesterday and I know it's just been a day, but I have to say they are awesome! I imagine it helped me that I wore contacts for ~ 30 years before my AN and was used to sticking things in my eyes. They are very comfortable and I can't believe how good my distance vision is. The scleral lens have my prescription for distance in them. I'm going back next week to get a pair of computer and reading glasses so I should be all set for work. I can see why so many are suggesting them, they are a must if you have eye issues.

If anyone is in the Charlotte NC area, I got my scleral lenses from Complete Eye Care in Belmont, NC. 704-271-5544. Dr Barbara Marcussen is wonderful and went above and beyond with my care. She has contacts across the country and can help connect you with local providers for the amniotic membrane or the scleral lenses. Hope this info helps!

Vicki

[vickieastwood]

Hi everyone,

It's been three months now since I got my scleral lens and I still love them! Not only had the cornea dry eye damage healed but my vision has improved dramatically from legally blind to 20/30. I can't begin to express what a difference these lenses have made in my quality of life. Dr. Marcussen is wonderful and I highly recommend her to anyone in the NC/SC area.

Vicki