Cataract surgery and Coumadin

[Rich]

To Al and all,
I know this subject has been discussed in the past, and I read some of those posts.
But I didn't see any input from Al, and would like to hear his or anyone elses comments.
I don't know when I may have to do this, reading up on it indicates there isn't much sense waiting until it gets real bad.
A year ago my sight was perfect, an exam left me with just the same reading glasses Iv'e had for over twenty years.
Then about six months ago things started to go a little south.
So getting old sure beats the alternative, but it can be a real pain in the neck............and a few other places as well.
Rich

 

[Guest]

Cataracts usually come on very slowly. Are you sure that this is the reason? Have you been checked?

 

[Rich]

Hi Al,
Yes I was checked and it is cataracts.
They are coming on slowly, and not bothering me a whole lot right now.
I want to research this so when the time comes I will have the info I need.
You and I both know that a lot of doctors don't understand Coumadin very well.
Most would probably say stop it for x number of days prior, and some would tell you to hold off on Coumadin after as well for so many days.
That of course is not acceptable.
I firmly believe since so many don't know all the facts, they tell you to stop it just to cover their behinds.
Rich

 

[Blanche]

Rich, you are right!

Rich, you are right!

Many doctors know diddly about anticoagulation. Ten years ago, Albert's opthomologist told him that he would have to go off his Coumadin for a week, would need hospitalization, and would need to have a series of shots in the stomach with a four inch needle daily for about 10 days. That's enough to scare the prickers off a porcupine! The doctor also told him that he needed to wait for surgery until the cataracts bloomed. Everything that dr said was wrong....

Several months later, Albert almost drove up the rear end of a garbage truck on a rainy night. The cataracts had not bloomed, but he could not see to drive a car safely. We found an eye surgeon through a friend and his surgery for the first eye was done six days later. A few months later, the second eye was done. The new eye surgeon had a practice near a retirement community for more than 10 years. He was used to working on older people and people who were on anticoag therapy.
He told us that he had done nearly ten thousand surgeries and in that time never had to remove a patient from Coumadin. I was with Al for the surgery and expected to see him bleeding from the eyeballs. To my surprise, there was no blood.

Albert's surgery was a success. He had no problems whatever and lost no time from work. Actually, he was thrilled with the surgery because his vision was so much better and he could see colors more vividly. I smiled when he asked me when I started dying my hair. I had not. The only cause for concern was after the first surgery his glasses would no longer work for him. He had the glass in the side that had been completed replaced and all was fine.

Finding a doctor who has lots of experience with eye surgery was key.

Wish you the best,

Blanche

 

[Rich]

Thanks Blanche,
Fortunately the guy I probably will have do my eyes, is the head of opthamology, at the same hospital where my cardiologist is head of cardiology.
It is the best hospital in the state of Michigan, and most of these guys have known each other for a lot of years,plus they are all in the same medical bldg, which is part of the hospital.
So I'm reasonbly sure they will talk to each other when the time comes.
The same guy did my next door neighbor last year(I was the designated driver for him).
He had worn glasses since his early twenties, now he is 76 and no longer wears glasses!!! I know one eye of his was 80/20 so his success really impressed me.
But of course as you well know, Coumadin is the little twist thrown into the equation.
Your story gives me confidence that it won't be a problem.

Rich

 

[Marty]

No hold for cataract surgery

No hold for cataract surgery

I'm 78, have cataracts (also have had a branch retinal vein thrombosis in right eye) but the cataracts are not yet ready for surgery. I asked my opthamologist if I would need to stop warfarin prior to surgery, bridge , or what. He said none of the above. I asked how he would do the surgery and he answered "very carefully"!

 

[Guest]

The new cataract surgery techniques do not require that warfarin be stopped.

Blanche, was the ophthalmologist Dr. Dulaney? He used to do so many cataract removals in Phoenix that he had a helicopter flying him from hospital to hospital. His father-in-law volunteered for me when I worked in Payson and was one of the people who appeared in Dr. Dulaney's TV ads. He made so much money that he lived in Aspen, Colorado and flew home from Phoenix every night in a private jet.

 

[Blanche]

Al:
The name "Dulaney" is still prominent in the Phoenix Metro area. There is a Barrett-Dulaney Clinic that services many patients. The doctor who helped Albert works by himself in a small office with no partners. He does have about 15 people who work for him caring for everything from reception to accounting. His office is is right next door to a hospital where he has his own area for operating. I tease him about being a big fish in a little pond. His opinions on the many "eye clinics" that provide assembly line care here would boggle your mind and give you certain acid reflux. Although he deals with many, many patients daily, he's always available and always cheerful. My kind of doctor. Happy to share his name with you or anyone else who might need a super, great opthomologist in the Phonix area. Just email me.

Regards,

Blanche

 

[Nan]

Hi Rich, I had cataract surgery in April of '04 and did not have to go off of Coumadin (warfarin) for the procedure. There was absolutely no problem. The only minor inconvenience was that I bruised from the light metal (perforated) eye patch that they put on you for 24 hours and looked like I had been in a fight. But that was it...

Good luck!

 

[Rich]

Thanks Nan,
I like the sound of that, now I just have to wait and see when it will come time.
Rich

 

[thecman321]

cataract surgery and coumadin

cataract surgery and coumadin

I am an optometrist in a busy medical practice.
I see many post op cataract surgical patients daily!!
With todays current surgical techniques of clear cornea incisions, there is no need to go off of coumadin since no blood vessels are actually cut.