6 Year Daughter Received Eye Surgery, Anybody Else Go Through This?

Hi there. :)
I am 52 and had the surgery when I was 6. It's scary for her, too! But, the puffy, bloody look with go away soon, and I believe is normal.
First, congratulations! A lot of parents wait too long to have this done, or at times, (especially 'only' one eye needs it), the child goes through their lives different looking. As one might imagine, this must effect their self-image.
My surgery was only for 1 eye. So, after the surgery I wore a patch over my good eye to help strengthen the other. Of course, this made me blind on the covered side. To this day I remember running into door jams. My depth perception has never been right -- making it impossible to use a microscope. This shouldn't happen with your child as both eyes should be about the same strength.
Important note: To this day, if I get really tired, the eye still turns in a bit. And, on a very rare occasion, people standing at -just the right- angle will ask me if my one eye is different. I only mention these things so you won't think them odd if you notice them...
Don't worry about the look of the eyes right now. The blood vessels have been traumatized. The eye drops are important though. Be patient with her, she's just nervous.
She may not have to wear glasses all the time. I only wore them for about a year. At about 16 or so I started wearing them to read -- that's it.
She'll be perfect...
K.

1 mom found this helpful

Well not to worry, I am now 40 years old and had that surgery as a child. I had the first surgery on one eye at 10 months old and the second @ 6-7 years old. I can understand how scary that would be but I look back at pictures of me then and my eyes were just as you describe. I wore glasses until the age of 10 and then I didn't need them anymore. As for my vision, one eye is perfect and the other is o.k. I still have one eye that wonders when I am tired but not often. Your daughter will remember that she had eye surgery but she won't remember the details. Just hang in there, you will get through this and so will she. At least now they have better choices with glasses, I had cat glasses it was the 70s.

Take Care,
J. H.
Mother of 16yo girl and 6yo boy.

1 mom found this helpful

I like to set timers for this kind of thing. If you can, take one to her daycare and have them use it ONLY for the purpose of eye drops. Or, have her wear a big sticky label on her pj's. Write the times needed down. Check off when given with your initial ors daycare's/babysitter's.

Everytime you see that scary blood, remind yourself how totally fortunate your daughter was to have the operation. How very grateful she will be, and what a BIG difference you have made in her life!!! Let that blood bring a smile to your face for her to see!!

G.

My son had eye surgery right before he turned 6 but for a different reason. He had a scratched cornea that wouldn't heal. So, I can't say if what you are experiencing is normal or not. My son was better immediately but we were still under close watch by his pediatric opthamologist and the corneal specialist for several weeks. Actually, he's turning 9 soon and they still want to see him yearly. I would just contact them and make an appointment to see them to check it out. I can sympathize with you though, I remember the round the clock eye drops for months. It's so hard to go through this. Good luck.

My son is now 7 and has 3 surgeries like your daughters. The first two were great at age 9 months and then at 2. The last was at 6 yrs old and he ended up with staph infection in his eye. My nephew has also had 2 of these surgeries as well. What you have described sounds right on schedule and very very normal even down to the timing. The children, especially older get very upset with not being able to see, that is very startling to say the least. Bloody/bloodshot and even very small oozing is normal. Eyedrops are a necessity to avoid new infection and help with the healing process. Offer any reward/bribe/or form of discipline if need be. It is crucial to have those. Do you have the antibacterial ointment as well? If so, put along lash line and you can also do this while she is sleeping. Ask the doctor for this if you don't have it. By day 4, if there is any goopiness/thick oozing, weird stuff coming out of the eye or if the eye doesn't look less bloody/improved from thursday, see the doctor immediately, do not waste time with it. You should always feel fine about calling your doctor about any concern youmay have as this is the first time with this. Some great doctors will even allow you to take a pic and send it via e-mail for them to see! Hope this helps

My daughter was 6 months old when she had her first eye surgery (to remove a congenital cataract), and 10 months old for her second surgery (to implant an artificial lens to replace the one previously removed). She, too, had the blood in the corner of her eye for a few days, and it was difficult to administer her eye drops. What we finally ended up having to do was have one person straddler her with her arms at her sides (to keep them from grabbing at or rubbing away the medicine) while the other placed the drops in her eye. It was not pleasant to have to force the drops on her, but they are very important to ensure the healing and health of the eye after surgery. Because your daughter is older, you should be able to explain thier purpose, but if she is not compliant it may be necessary to force the issue. Also, even though my daughter was very young at the time of her surgery, she experienced some trauma afterwards- i.e., waking up scared and not wanting to go to sleep or be away from us (this was a marked change in her normal easy going behavior at the time). I think your daughter's waking up screaming may be a normal reaction to her surgery and the anesthesia. My daughter's eye needed to be dialated for the surgery, and I know that dialation impairs vision. Just comfort her when it happens and reassure her that you are there to take care of her while her eyes heal. I know this experience is scary for you, as well as, for your daughter, but hopefully you both will begin to see the benefit and healing very soon. Good luck.

Our daughter had the same surgery at age 1. The corners of her eyes were bloody also. That was scary, but it's normal and goes away in a few days. Our problem with the surgery was with her vomiting anything she drank the next day (probably the effects of the anesthesia). So the day after the surgery she was getting so dehydrated, we had to go to emergency room to get her rehydrated through an IV. After that she was fine and recovered very quickly.
We could tell right away how much better her eyes looked. Before both used to turn in, and after the surgery they were straight.

Just watch that your daughter eats and drinks normally and keep giving the eye drops. She'll be OK in no time.

Hi M.
is it the 4 times a day or her closing her eyes that makes eye drops hard? if it is her closing her eyes, hold the dropper above her eye, have her lift her face to "show the sun your face" then as the drop is ready to fall say Open your eyes , she'll open her eyes automatically and the drop will go in, just repeat it's what I use for both my pediatric and adult patients
good luck

When I was 6 and a half years old (many many many years ago now.. I am 30 today) I had eye surgery for a retinal detatchment in my right eye. I remember the surgery but am not sure if there were drops afterwards. It's scary for a child to have this type of thing happen and I know I always was afraid that it would happen again. Keep that in mind during the times ahead. On a lighter note... I can see pretty good today. I also had a retinal detatchment when I was 14 in my left eye and now I have pretty good vision in both with contact lenses. Just make sure that she knows it's ok to be scared but there is nothing to be worried about. You are there with her etc.

Good Luck,

It is perfectly normal especially right after the surgery. If you're concern about the blood in her eyes, you should talk to your doctor about it and they will explain it to you. My miracle baby had have laser eye surgery due to Retinopathy in prematurity which is common in preemie babies. Her eyes were red for several days and it went away. I had to give her two different eye drops in a little 5 pound baby when she came home from hospital after staying there for 3 1/2 months in NICU. I would continue to giver her medications to help the focus and the muscle strength that helps her eyes focus. Don't give up. It is harder on a 6yr old than it is for a small baby. Hope everything works out. Good luck!

My daughter was born with severe strabismus as well ( a "wandering" eye, not a "wondering" eye!). Her left eye turned completely inward. She wore glasses and had to have a patch over her 'good' eye from age 2 months. She then had one surgery at 15 months and another one at about age 2 1/2. She is now 14 and still wears bifocals, but her eyes are straight with the glasses. She has a bit of oblique movement in the one eye without glasses, and this probably won't ever go away. I'm surprised your doctor waited so long to do this surgery, but I'm glad you had it done, because after about age 6, it is apparently difficult to correct the crossing. Try to remain calm while putting in the eye drops or whatever the doctor has prescribed. Your daughter is old enough to understand why she had the surgery, and should be able to cooperate with you. For goodness sake, you should be talking to the surgeon if you have any concerns! Best of luck!

I had the same surgery 4 times as a child (fortunately the surgery has improved tremendously). My daughter went through it as well. Do NOT skip the eye drops - they will prevent inflamation and infection. It is hard but, bribe her if you have to. My daughter was 4 when she had strabismus surgery as well as kidney surgery - the hardest day of my life. She has not had any problems since, though she, too, hated the eye drops. Hang in, It will get better. In the meantime - find what she likes the best and give it to her after she takes her drops. My daughter sometimes needed me to hold her down (her laying on her back with arms extended to her sides - Me sitting on top of her with her hands between my knees and her body - my weight supported on my knees - takes a bit of balance, but it is possible) Good luck - you will get through it and when you think of the consequences of not doing this - that will help you on the harder days.

-T. -Mother of 3 special needs kids