What Can I Do About the Side Effects of an Iridotomy?

I had a closed angle attack in July of 2011. My highest IOP was 60! We got the pressure down by using drops. A week later I had the iridotomy on the affected (left) eye. An iridotomy was done on the right eye a week later. I can see a light come in through the opening in my left (affected eye). It looks like a prism with rainbow colors. But, the problem is I have double vision. I have a terrible time reading. My vision is blurred as well.

My right eye has “lazy eye” which didn’t get surgically corrected (cosmetic) until I was 12. My right eye is my weak eye. The muscle may have stretched out and now my right eye wanders more again. I am wearing glasses with prisms, but I am doubtful that it is helping. The double vision goes away when I close one eye. It seems that I only notice the double vision in my left eye, but it is my dominant eye, so it’s hard to tell. My visual acuity decreased after the iridotomies. I don’t care if the experts are saying it is rare for the iridotomy to cause problems with blurred vision and diplopia. The problems need to be addressed. How do we improve my vision?

I was told that I have narrow angles and was sent to another doctor who performs eye surgeries. He confirmed that I have narrow angles and scheduled me for an iriodotomy in my left eye and then 3 weeks later in the right eye. I called and canceled. I can’t find peace about doing it. I read that of 1000 patients only 50 have narrow angles and of that 50 only 10% develop closed angle glaucoma. That’s a 10% chance. That being the case and reading the negatives on this site and other sites I’ve been researching on of patients who had bad results, only makes the decision easier. I had rather risk 10% (although I know that if you are one of the 10% it is a 100% for you) than to have the surgeries and be left with problems that I didn’t have before. I pray that my decision works out to be the best for me. Neither of the two physicians could answer the question I posed, “Is this medically necessary”?

I had laser iridotomy on my right eye 5 days ago. Prior to surgery, I have had open angle glaucoma for many years and well controlled at 13 in each eye. On last appt., dr said he saw signs that indicated that I might develop closed angle glaucoma and recommended that I have the procedure on both eyes. Ever since the surgery, I have a white, transparent line in the lower part of my eye and a lot of sensitivity to light. My former great vision is now very blurred. I doubt I will be able to read past the first line on an eye chart. 3 days after surgery, I felt extreme swelling. So the dr met me in his office on the weekend and said my issues were from inflammation and dry eyes. He prescribed 10 days of Neomycin and Polymyxin B and Dexamethasone. 3 days of these drops and I only feel more irritated and my vision is not any better. I am supposed to have a check up next week and have the other eye done. There is no way I want to go through that with my vision the way it is now. I am very worried that this is permanent.

June 2010, I had an iridotomy on both eyes. My pressure was 32 & 36 and my doctor told me I had narrow angles.The night before the procedure I researched and found positives and negatives which made me very leary. The morning of the procedure I was very nervous, but one of the nurses told me she had it done and had no side effects so I felt a little bit better about it.

After each procedure, I had such blurred vision, I could not see to drive. I was told the vision would clear up. It never did. Both eyes are blurred now. My vision in both eyes has been damaged and I would never do this again. I have had multiple prescriptions for glasses from 4 different doctors in order to be able to see without a blurr and I still have problems seeing well.

Before the iridotomy’s I had excellent vision. Only needed readers because I’m in my 50’s.

I wish I had tried drops first to lower the pressure. I use drops 3 times a day and my pressure is stable at 17 & 18. I am sooooooooo sorry I had the procedure and hope there is something that can be done to reverse the damage.

one iridotomy per eye at 3 or 9 oclock. no change in technique needed- just to aim at 3/9 instead of 12. this idea has been discussed in a few articles in the less rigorous “throwaways”. im sure your surgeon can look into it if not familiar.

I had an adverse reaction to a medication on two separate occasions, the second worse than the first, that caused my left eye to experience blur and halos. Both episodes self-resolved within 24 hours. I reported to my optometrist who felt I had narrowed angles. A visual field exam was normal as was the optic nerve. I was referred to an ophthalmologist who confirmed narrow angles but otherwise healthy eyes. He scheduled me for bilateral prophylactic iridotomies. I started doing some research and found all the horror stories and canceled my appointments. My optometrist scolded me. I did more research and found a glaucoma specialist for a second opinion. She confirmed the emergent need for iridotomies. I shared my concerns and asked her for her track record. We even discussed the most current research that Ari mentioned in the October 18th, 2011 9:27 am post. We agreed to the 3:00 and 9:00 temporal positioning. Since she began doing iridotomies in 2001, she has had only one patient that has visual disturbances severe enough that she feels her quality of life is affected. With much fear and trepidation, I had my first procedure on 10/3 and the second on 10/10. At this point in my recovery, I have NO visual aberrations, only some sensitivity to bright light. I am told this is normal for about 2 – 3 months. My friend who is a cataract surgeon and instrumental in my decision to go forward with the procedures, said that I was very lucky that my two episodes of probable angle closure self-resolved (very unusual) and that I had definitely dodged a bullet and disarmed a bomb that was sure to go off in the future resulting in visual loss. I wish more people with positive experiences would post them, so that those of us who are researching wouldn’t be so scared to death! I am so sorry for those whose experiences did not result in good outcomes. But my friend the surgeon mentioned that for those who have experienced severe visual disturbances, one should look into corneal tattooing. Also, I believe in questions, questions, questions, second opinions, experts in the field, and looking into a physician’s statistics and outcomes. I did not connect with the first ophthalmologist; he did not invite conversation even when I expressed my concerns and anxiety. I think it is important for patients to feel they can talk to their caregiver; not do as they are told. I am so happy to have this experience past me. I pray that the iridotomies do not close as I would not care to repeat the experience. But to anyone who is looking for information, please do not be put off by the negativity; be responsible for your own health; do your homework and choose someone with a positive track record. Even ask to speak to someone who has had a positive experience.

Seems as though the more I look into this the more horror stories I find. I to had the iridotomy performed in both eyes my left eye first. That same day I was (and I am still ) seeing 2 white lines across my eye. After going to my Opthamologist for an emergency checkup he assured me this was a floater from the procedure and it would go away as the gel inside the eye settled so feeling a bit comforted I had the second eye done. Its been 2 months and I still have the lines and i get constant headaches which I rarely used to get headaches before and now i am very sensitive to light. Come to find out my opthamologist actually works for the eye group he sent me to for surgery which he stated i needed asap because my pressure was so high he couldnt even dialate it to finish my checkup which at the time was at 19 and up to 22 is considered normal (which i didnt know at the time
). At the time of surgery my pressure was at 14 after the surgery it was at 20. Come to find out all i really needed was eye drops and a yearly check up to keep it in check this I found out from a glaucoma specialist after the fact who I went to after finding out my opthamologist may have had different priorities. The specialist also told me that usually they make a pin hole in the retina, in my right eye it was a pinhole but in the 1 with the lines he said it was more like a tear and that the light was seeping in from it being so large. So all in all if your doctor tells you you need this procedure go to get another opinion if you can afford to. Dont make the same mistake as me. What i really found comical about this, is a site i found where they posted a video on this procedure which people were posting so much negative feedback (all these posters being former iridotomy treatment patients) that the moderator closed the boards because of negatve feedback from all of the former patients. Well maybe if we were a little more informed before hand about possible risks and or side effects and other tereatment options less of us would have this dangerous procedure done.

I was scheduled for implantable contact lens (ICL) surgery and had a laser iridotomy done last week. Since then my right eye was in pain and I postponed my surgery till next week. I am on steroid medications for inflammation and now my eyes are so sensitive to light and I do feel like they are burning, probably a side effect from medications. I’ve tried putting my contacts back today and the pain and pressure made it impossible to wear after half a day. I am going to my eye doctor tomorrow and definitely canceling my ICL surgery. I’ve never had such a discomfort in with my eyes before. Will my eyes be the same again? Will I be able to wear my contacts again with those laser holes left in my eyes? I am so devastated…

I also had a personal injury. I really only have vision in one eye so we did the bad one first….everything went fine. Not so lucky with the good. After I had discomfort in the eye, dry eye and intermittent ghosting. Very very frustruating. After two years of going to doctors I found that the ghosting can be caused by refraction of light – light getting in the PI hole and creating havoc. I found a doctor who has done corneal tattoos with great success. Although this sounds crazy it also makes sense. It sort of puts a sunglass over the hole. I am not a candidate for this yet as I now have other eye issues. He tried to see if this would be successful with a simple brown eye colored contact. If it works then perhaps this option might help. My cornea doc is pretty conservative as well. My issues are all corneal related now. I am convinced that the laser caused issues but every doc swears it hasn’t. What I am told is undetected underlying conditions actually flared after the PI (like dry eye and fuchs) causing my distress. I am glad I did this to preserve my sight however, I have not had any eye issues that caused me symptoms until I did this. I also have a plateau iris so the PI isn’t as optimal as hoped. Good news is on good days I have not lost vision.

Hi,
I recently had surgical iridectomy and an ICL implant (for myopia). I am experiencing the same symptons as the previous patient. My vision is now very poor in this eye and was told I had corneal edema. I now also have the white lines, terrible ghosting and glare worse in the daytime. I would not feel safe driving at night as every headlight is miltiplied by three!

The iridotomy holes are large and not near the edge of my iris but close to the pupil. Will this improve with time? I am not having the other eye done until I can see clearly from this eye.

I wish I had put up with my myopia and stuck with my contact lenses and thick glasses now – whats more I have spent £5200 for this terrible outcome!