Epiretinal membrane/macular pucker surgery?

A friend of mine is on the waiting list (and has been for a long time) - if she has hers before you, I will let you know how she got on! Good luck with this.

Thank you, Luckygirl, that would be really helpful. I don't know how long I'll have to wait for the surgery, but I'll pop back here when I've seen the surgeon.

I don't have macular pucker but was diagnosed with a macular hole by an eye hospital's A and E department(my GP thought it could be a detached retina - from our telephone consultation - hence the urgency etc.) six weeks ago. I am adding this in case anyone has a similar problem or macular pucker is time relevant.

I was given an appointment for a further consultation in October.

Once home, reading up on macular holes, I saw that 'time is of the essence' i.e. the sooner the operation is done, the better the outcome - and vice versa....

I rang the hospital and queried if it really was OK to wait some three and a half months before seeing someone. The nurse took advice and later rang to say I was fine to wait and I was initially happy with this.

However, I began to have a zillion questions and decided to have a private consultation. Tested again, I was found to have a 75% increase in the size of my hole in only five weeks. This could have an impact on my future central vision.

The consultant said he would operate a day or so later to stop the rot.

What would have happened had I waited for the NHS consultation in October with a probably a further wait for an operation some months after that?

All a bit worrying.

Do please check that anything to do with your eyes is not time relevant and be pushy if it is!

My friend has been told that he "probably" has chronic leukaemia from some blood tests - he certainly looks yellow and pale - and he has an appointment with the heamatologist in October!

Luckygirl, could your friend speak with his GP to see if it really is OK to wait -it seems unbelievable that if he needs treatment, he has to wait so long.

Perhaps his condition means treatment can wait but to the uninitiated October sounds a very long time.

Or, he can do as I did and see someone privately (his GP can make a recommendation). I feel this should not be necessary but it would mean all his questions could be answered and he would know what he was looking at.

Thinking about this more, if your friend. needed urgent treatment I would like to think that the NHS could and would provide it immediately - they're usually ................ OK with the really urgent stuff.

Please wish him well.

Regards

Candelle - I too had a macular hole diagnosis. Because I have glaucoma and dry macular degeneration I was told to go immediately to my specialist if there was any change in vision which I did. I was diagnosed and was also told the sooner the op was done the better, but certainly within a year.
After 8 months waiting I rang to check, after which I had initial assessment, preparatory tests and the operation within 3 weeks. on my notes it said 'Urgent'!

Oops -posted too soon! My op has been successful and I have been told the chances of cataracts developing are now increased. Even the consultant said if I don't get another appointment in 6 months to ring again. It's admin that seems to be the problem.

So Genevieve - as Candelle says 'Be pushy'. It's worth it.