Pinguecula

Have you ever heard of this word before? I hadn't until I was diagnosed with it in February. It is an eye condition that causes constant irritation and intolerable burning sensation. Pinguecula is apparently caused by UVA/UVB rays from the sun, dust, smoke, harmful environmental conditions, etc. It makes sense because I spent many years without minding to protect my eyes. Up until recently, I never really cared to wear sunglasses when outdoors. One of the most common, yet the worst in my opinion, symptoms of Pinguecula is the formation of fat deposit on the white part of the eye. This was the case with me, unfortunately. It was so ugly! When I first consulted my primary eye doctor about it, he recommended I not do anything and to leave the growth alone. He said it was benign and therefore, harmless. But the fucking thing was too noticeable for me to ignore. It eroded my self-esteem to the point I avoided making eye contact with anyone. It was inflamed all the time, too.

About a month after my first diagnosis, I went to Kaiser and sought a second opinion. I felt that in this day and age there had to be something a doctor can do to cure my ugly eye. I lucked out! I found myself a wonderful and sympathetic 33-year old surgeon who, without hesitation, agreed to surgically remove the growth. I had the Pinguecula excision procedure done at Kaiser South San Francisco on May 28th, under local anesthesia with sedation. Yes, I was partly awake for the duration of the surgery, which lasted close to an hour. I actually remember seeing the needle as it was just about to poke my cornea. Scary shit! Using tiny instruments, the surgeon cut through the coating around the Pinguecula and peeled off the afflicted part. A healthy film is then grafted from a different area of the same eye and glued onto where the Pinguecula used to be. All along my eye was doused with Mytomin-C - a chemotherapy drug - to discourage further cell growth, therefore, reducing the possibility of further recurrence. I was sent home a few hours later, with a patch on my eye and instructions to use antibiotic & anti-inflammation eye drops for the next four weeks.

Yeah, although I was terrified of and during the surgery, the recovery was a whole different ballgame. I went through endless ups and downs. My eye was extremely red and it didn't go away fast enough. I had to wear dark sunglasses around, even in the office! Surprisingly though, I felt no pain at any time whatsoever that I never needed any pain killers, much less Vicodin. I only felt soreness. Fast forward to 3 weeks post-op (now) and I'm feeling like a million bucks! The redness is almost completely gone now. And unless you look up close, my eye looks like it has not had anything done to it. I am so grateful to the doctor at Kaiser. He is my hero!

If anyone is considering having this procedure done, contact me if you need more information. I also have pictures. I know it can be very frustrating trying to get more information on this subject as there isn't much you'll find on the web. So I'd like to help by sharing my experience. Email me: susan415@gmail.com