Eye Update: Next DMEK Surgery

This will be my last eye update before undergoing DMEK cornea transplant on my right eye (see my post on my left eye DMEK here). I post this info in hopes of encouraging those struggling with Fuchs Corneal Dystrophy and other eye problems.

My current situation is a mix of good and bad news. Following the DMEK on my left eye, my vision in that eye was getting dramatically better, but then stopped improving, and actually started to get just a bit worse (although still vastly improved compared to before surgery). The doctor believes this regression is due to my cataracts growing worse, and I might possibly be developing keratoconus (thinning of the cornea). Typically, patients with cataracts and Fuchs Dystrophy are treated with a double surgery: cornea transplant + cataract surgery combined. But my cataracts were so mild that the doctor recommended we do the DMEK first and then address the cataracts later (probably years down the road, or so we thought at the time). But recently the cataracts have worsened much faster than expected and will need to be addressed sooner rather than later. The keratoconus is new, and hopefully can be treated with contact lenses designed to support weakened corneas. The plan for now is to just get through the next DMEK surgery (and subsequent recovery process), and then address the cataracts and keratoconus.

The good news is that all of my eye problems are treatable; it’s just that the road to anything resembling a full visual recovery will take longer than expected. I hope to document my recovery process here on this blog, and share any info that might be helpful to those suffering with eye problems.

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One caveat to Fuchs Dystrophy sufferers: don’t wait too long to do the cornea surgeries. The longer you wait, the more chance of permanently scaring your corneas. My first doctor thought it was too soon to do the cornea transplants, so I put it off… and then I put it off some more… I waited almost slightly too long, and now I may have some mild cornea scarring in each eye even after successful DMEK surgeries. Fortunately, it’s not bad enough to significantly impact my vision too much, but I do wish I had done the surgeries a bit sooner.