Has anyone had Eyes, Ears Brain or Dizziness problems after Da vinci surgery ?
Two of our sisters voiced concerns about eye problems. I am hoping to establish side effects,known and new ones.
Moli-Any and all responses will be appreciated, Thanks.
Comments
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Eyes and Da Vinci
My eyes seemed a little more blurry than usual, but I was in the middle of chemo and all those drugs, so I attributed it to that. I even went to the eye doctor, but he simply said he didn't' see anything and that my prescription had not changed. My eyes have been back to normal (my normal) for some time now. I also have diabetes.
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I still get blurry eyesHopeful162 said:Eyes and Da Vinci
My eyes seemed a little more blurry than usual, but I was in the middle of chemo and all those drugs, so I attributed it to that. I even went to the eye doctor, but he simply said he didn't' see anything and that my prescription had not changed. My eyes have been back to normal (my normal) for some time now. I also have diabetes.
I still get blurry eyes several times a week. I also thought it was a side effect of the chemo. Haven't had my eyes checked yet. Going to wait until I hit the 6 month post chemo mark.
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Eye problems here although I
Eye problems here although I think they're getting better. I just thought it was the chemo - I know the excess tearing is the Taxotere. I'm waiting until the beginning of June - six months since the last chemo to get them checked. That's what my GP said to do. If the excess tearing doesn't clear up (my eyes are sometime stuck shut when I wake up), they can do some kind of operation to fix the tear duct.
Love,
Eldri
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I had eye issues
I woke up with double/blurry vision. I have had neither chemo nor any serious drugs. I also had no patch given to me either. My vision still has not returned to normal, and I also now suffer with many more headaches I think in part due to these vision issues.
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I am two years out from
I am two years out from completing chemo. Ever since my chemo I have been having vision problems. I'm not sure though if the chemo is to blame or if it's just part of the aging process. I am having increasing difficulty with reading small print and it gets worse at night. I got new glasses about 6 months ago but I find it hard to read the computer and on my phone. I keep needing to magnify the print. And the longer I am reading or working on the computer the more i have trouble reading. It seems to have gotten worse in the last few months. I'm going to make an appt with the eye doctor and see what's what.
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Thank heavens for being ableSandy3185 said:I am two years out from
I am two years out from completing chemo. Ever since my chemo I have been having vision problems. I'm not sure though if the chemo is to blame or if it's just part of the aging process. I am having increasing difficulty with reading small print and it gets worse at night. I got new glasses about 6 months ago but I find it hard to read the computer and on my phone. I keep needing to magnify the print. And the longer I am reading or working on the computer the more i have trouble reading. It seems to have gotten worse in the last few months. I'm going to make an appt with the eye doctor and see what's what.
Thank heavens for being able to increase the print size on computers and for large-print books. Let us know what your eye doctor says.
Love,
Eldri
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I read your comment about the
I read your comment about the steep positioning during robotic surgery. I had a "regular" long vertical scar surgery after they found there were too many problems for it, but who knows as they intended to do the robotic I might have been in that position. I have had slightly more blurred vision and needed a tad stronger reading glasses after surgery.
I guess my due dilligence leaves a lot to be desired, it did not even occur to me that they might put us in anything but a flat position. I am glad you alerted us to this nasty piece of side effect.
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Saying Thanks for responses
To all of you my sisters, It is very important for us to research every procedure that will be done to us as sometimes the suggested 'cure ' gets to be worse than the original disease. Several doctors told me I did myself a great favor by telling the surgeon to pretend no one invented this new procedure and she must get my tumors out , by then we were down to the wire with time ,few hours before surgery booking time, She could do abdominal open surgery but would use her fellow as her assistant surgeon, I had already told them I did not want a student doctor to help with cutting anything in my belly, so I swiftly dismissed that option . She then went to the method doctors all over the world have used for hundreds of years to do total removal of uterine organs, and the method I wanted used as I knew the benefit of removal via vagina, as long as they take everything out whole(intact)in order not to spread cells on the way out. My surgeon was wonderful and smart, and the young 'fellow was too sweet and funny, upon my recovery ,her's was the first face I saw, she promptly told me "I assisted but didn't cut anything in your belly although your intestine kept falling in the way , I had to restrain myself from cutting it out" I was still in lala land but remember telling her thanks for mastering the restraint, We shared many laughs over her comment in the days that followed. I really couldn't have had better surgery or better surgeons, I am blessed.NED is our goal ,keep taking the fight to cancer your way, your educated decision.
The hard part is to prove what caused what as chemo also messes with everything in it's path.
Moli-- always hugging.
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5 days of of diVinci
and my vision continues to be blurry. I have notified my surgeon that I have an appointment with my ophthalmologist to check it out. I am asking for the OR notes so I understand how long I was upside down! Also the family watched the American Idol Final and I really couldn't hear the singers????? thank you for turning me on to these possible effects. I've read the research findings on line.
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http://contemporaryobgyn.modeBabyCoach said:5 days of of diVinci
and my vision continues to be blurry. I have notified my surgeon that I have an appointment with my ophthalmologist to check it out. I am asking for the OR notes so I understand how long I was upside down! Also the family watched the American Idol Final and I really couldn't hear the singers????? thank you for turning me on to these possible effects. I've read the research findings on line.
This is an excerpt from this article:
"Intraocular pressure rises significantly in steep Trendelenburg.8 As early as the 1950s, serious ocular complications, such as retinal detachment, were attributed to this positioning.9 Two patients developed ischemic optic neuropathy leading to partial visual loss and complete blindness after prolonged robotic surgery in steep Trendelenburg.10 As more gynecologic procedures are performed with robots, more ocular complications attributed to increased intraocular pressure and ischemic optic neuropathy may be encountered, especially in elderly patients who may have elevated baseline intraocular pressure."
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Blueh.Flat position gives optimal safety but more work.bluehyacinth said:I read your comment about the
I read your comment about the steep positioning during robotic surgery. I had a "regular" long vertical scar surgery after they found there were too many problems for it, but who knows as they intended to do the robotic I might have been in that position. I have had slightly more blurred vision and needed a tad stronger reading glasses after surgery.
I guess my due dilligence leaves a lot to be desired, it did not even occur to me that they might put us in anything but a flat position. I am glad you alerted us to this nasty piece of side effect.
Doctors no longer wants to expend the energy and man power to use forceps and temporary sutures to keep other organs out of the surgeon's path ,so they decided to turn us upside down which in effect shake our organs, all of them down towards our head clearing the crowded abdominal space creating easier access but tons of problems for unlucky patients.Heart and lungs also takes a beating in their now unusual cramped space for so long.
There are people currently here and all over the USA that never again left the hospital after, easy gadget based procedures. I am vigilant or troublesome , pick one I don't care about labels. I had no control of getting cancer but I am going to stay in control of how it's dealt with, comes what may.
Did any one or your operating room report explain why they changed procedure for you, ? if you had difficulty on their attempt you should know the nature of the difficulty, Find out and document it.
All 'n All we are all above ground today and thats a good thing.
Moli-- wishing NED and no other reason to be Turned Upside Down for us all.
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No problemsEZLiving66 said:This is an excerpt from this article:
"Intraocular pressure rises significantly in steep Trendelenburg.8 As early as the 1950s, serious ocular complications, such as retinal detachment, were attributed to this positioning.9 Two patients developed ischemic optic neuropathy leading to partial visual loss and complete blindness after prolonged robotic surgery in steep Trendelenburg.10 As more gynecologic procedures are performed with robots, more ocular complications attributed to increased intraocular pressure and ischemic optic neuropathy may be encountered, especially in elderly patients who may have elevated baseline intraocular pressure."
I want to comment about why I was scared to death of an open procedure. When I saw my gynecologist for the biopsy, she made a very pointed and nasty (IMHO) comment about me having an open procedure. Her exact words were "I don't want you dying on my operating table". What? I was 40 lbs. overweight at the time of diagnosis and she went on and on and on about how much of a surgical risk I was because of all the fat I had on my abdomen and how I might have trouble healing, let alone living through the operation. I was scared to death of having an open abdominal procedure and was thrilled to learn about the potential of a robotic surgery. I lost 10 lbs. prior to surgery which was probably a good thing. I was sure I would have complications because she really drove that potential home. When my biopsy showed cancer, she referred me to a gynecologic oncologist because he did robotic surgery so I would not have the risk of an open procedure. He was very reassuring to me about both an open procedure as well as robotic and said if he had to revert to open, he would have to, but that he operated on overweight women all the time, because "these are the women who typically get endometrial cancer". There was a delay in scheduling because of the need to schedule both the robot and the larger OR and I waited for the robot. He never mentioned any problems with positioning and eye pressure, and I had no problems. My robotic procedure went well and included pelvic lymph node removal. From Dr. Google, I leaarned about the Trendelenburg positioning prior to my surgery, not from the surgeon. I don't think this was mentioned as a risk when I signed the consent forms, either. I don't know what I would have done had I had that worry, too! Information is usually a good thing for me. I try to understand as much as I can about whatever is going on with my health. Anytime anything is done to us, including ingesting an aspirin, there is a risk. ANY surgical procedure is risky. We all need to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks and be able to make informed decisions.
Suzanne
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Babycoach, good moveBabyCoach said:5 days of of diVinci
and my vision continues to be blurry. I have notified my surgeon that I have an appointment with my ophthalmologist to check it out. I am asking for the OR notes so I understand how long I was upside down! Also the family watched the American Idol Final and I really couldn't hear the singers????? thank you for turning me on to these possible effects. I've read the research findings on line.
I hope the opthalmologist will find no related problems with your eyes , but if he/she does find any new damage, Make sure all the doctors involved hears about it loud and clear, enabling them to follow up .Check out the ears,please.
Sorry to cause you stress with the knowledge, but it helps us to protect ourselves from harm with treatment, especially that we couldn't protect ourselves for this darn Cancer.Vigilance is going to give us better quality of life, and minimize guinea-pigging.
You are welcome.
Moli -Wishing my sisters a wonderful week.
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Suzanne, thanks for well explained post.Double Whammy said:No problems
I want to comment about why I was scared to death of an open procedure. When I saw my gynecologist for the biopsy, she made a very pointed and nasty (IMHO) comment about me having an open procedure. Her exact words were "I don't want you dying on my operating table". What? I was 40 lbs. overweight at the time of diagnosis and she went on and on and on about how much of a surgical risk I was because of all the fat I had on my abdomen and how I might have trouble healing, let alone living through the operation. I was scared to death of having an open abdominal procedure and was thrilled to learn about the potential of a robotic surgery. I lost 10 lbs. prior to surgery which was probably a good thing. I was sure I would have complications because she really drove that potential home. When my biopsy showed cancer, she referred me to a gynecologic oncologist because he did robotic surgery so I would not have the risk of an open procedure. He was very reassuring to me about both an open procedure as well as robotic and said if he had to revert to open, he would have to, but that he operated on overweight women all the time, because "these are the women who typically get endometrial cancer". There was a delay in scheduling because of the need to schedule both the robot and the larger OR and I waited for the robot. He never mentioned any problems with positioning and eye pressure, and I had no problems. My robotic procedure went well and included pelvic lymph node removal. From Dr. Google, I leaarned about the Trendelenburg positioning prior to my surgery, not from the surgeon. I don't think this was mentioned as a risk when I signed the consent forms, either. I don't know what I would have done had I had that worry, too! Information is usually a good thing for me. I try to understand as much as I can about whatever is going on with my health. Anytime anything is done to us, including ingesting an aspirin, there is a risk. ANY surgical procedure is risky. We all need to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks and be able to make informed decisions.
Suzanne
That doctor was rude, it begs the question ,What were they doing with fat people (no disrespect, I am fat )before Robotic surgery discovery? Send them away to the slaughter house?
The 2nd doctor was a real doctor. The 1st an ****.
They are doctors and business people,They will not verbalize these side effects but may be mentioned in written documents that you must sign.but they take the gamble that you won't read and question them at time of signing.
If that rude whack job didn't scare you with the ' promise' of death (sounds like, I promise you will die but not on my table) ,you would have had no problem agreeing to the open procedure and you would have been just as fine.
You should have been told the truthful pros and cons of both procedure , allowed time to process and research then decide.
Just happy that you were not unlucky. I fully agree, informed decisions gives us a certain level of peace of mind ,No doctor should cause a patient to do anything out of fear.
We should all do what our informed gut tells us come what may.
Moli- Hugging
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No visual problems
I appreciate all this shared information and sympathize with those of you who have suffered these problems. I had DaVinci but also ended up with an incision. Fortunately, I have had no visual problems as a result.
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Thanks for your comments. Imolimoli said:Blueh.Flat position gives optimal safety but more work.
Doctors no longer wants to expend the energy and man power to use forceps and temporary sutures to keep other organs out of the surgeon's path ,so they decided to turn us upside down which in effect shake our organs, all of them down towards our head clearing the crowded abdominal space creating easier access but tons of problems for unlucky patients.Heart and lungs also takes a beating in their now unusual cramped space for so long.
There are people currently here and all over the USA that never again left the hospital after, easy gadget based procedures. I am vigilant or troublesome , pick one I don't care about labels. I had no control of getting cancer but I am going to stay in control of how it's dealt with, comes what may.
Did any one or your operating room report explain why they changed procedure for you, ? if you had difficulty on their attempt you should know the nature of the difficulty, Find out and document it.
All 'n All we are all above ground today and thats a good thing.
Moli-- wishing NED and no other reason to be Turned Upside Down for us all.
Thanks for your comments. I have learnt a lot since here and also about what I am going to do now. My first treatment after chemo is LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) which I have been on before years ago (I have a chronic disabling neurological disaease as well) and know it will lower my urinary frequency and urgency a lot in addition to having hopefully tumor surpression impact. I will go on Metformin if I have a recurrence, but since my glucose level is somewhat low and I am skinny I will wait and my oncologist isn't going to prescribe it anyway because of that. I may add milkthisle injections if I can build up some fat to inject in it.
Just read my ops notes again and I was in the dorsal lithotomy position so I was flat on my back with the legs bent in kinda like childbirth position. They told me ahead of time that due to my high grade and my seeming large uterus they already suspected they might not do robotic and they explained after surgery I had a huge swollen uterus apparently and no way it could come out of the vagina, don't know if since the PET-CT scan taken before surgery showed enlarged periaortic lymph nodes and other badness so they had to dig around all the way up there it might have made the decision easier. I have a big scar from pubic bone to above bellie button and they did dig out 3 malignant nodes up there.
My cancer and grade biopsy and PT CT Scan had me on the table a couple of weeks after the biopsy and I had a big trip planned and other things that my research was limited to where to have the surgery, I did not even get around to getting second opinion.
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blueh,Thanks be to the creatorbluehyacinth said:Thanks for your comments. I
Thanks for your comments. I have learnt a lot since here and also about what I am going to do now. My first treatment after chemo is LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) which I have been on before years ago (I have a chronic disabling neurological disaease as well) and know it will lower my urinary frequency and urgency a lot in addition to having hopefully tumor surpression impact. I will go on Metformin if I have a recurrence, but since my glucose level is somewhat low and I am skinny I will wait and my oncologist isn't going to prescribe it anyway because of that. I may add milkthisle injections if I can build up some fat to inject in it.
Just read my ops notes again and I was in the dorsal lithotomy position so I was flat on my back with the legs bent in kinda like childbirth position. They told me ahead of time that due to my high grade and my seeming large uterus they already suspected they might not do robotic and they explained after surgery I had a huge swollen uterus apparently and no way it could come out of the vagina, don't know if since the PET-CT scan taken before surgery showed enlarged periaortic lymph nodes and other badness so they had to dig around all the way up there it might have made the decision easier. I have a big scar from pubic bone to above bellie button and they did dig out 3 malignant nodes up there.
My cancer and grade biopsy and PT CT Scan had me on the table a couple of weeks after the biopsy and I had a big trip planned and other things that my research was limited to where to have the surgery, I did not even get around to getting second opinion.
It's all behind you now and you are fine. As we move forward everyday we will find out something that we didn't know yesterday or today. This journey is an expidition ,we will discover many things , some will bring us calm ,some will frighten,some will enlightened,other discoveries will bring us un-shakable peace of mind, That's the ultimate discovery. I pray ,hope ,wish that Cancer stop discovering us.NED is my wish for all of us today.
Moli-Nuff Love. Hug every new day and use it to do many new things.
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Cheese, great newsCheeseQueen57 said:No visual problems
I appreciate all this shared information and sympathize with those of you who have suffered these problems. I had DaVinci but also ended up with an incision. Fortunately, I have had no visual problems as a result.
Now your goal is to stay NED, We'll be here cheering and or whispering hope.
Moli-- sending welcoming hugs.
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Sandy, good ideaSandy3185 said:I am two years out from
I am two years out from completing chemo. Ever since my chemo I have been having vision problems. I'm not sure though if the chemo is to blame or if it's just part of the aging process. I am having increasing difficulty with reading small print and it gets worse at night. I got new glasses about 6 months ago but I find it hard to read the computer and on my phone. I keep needing to magnify the print. And the longer I am reading or working on the computer the more i have trouble reading. It seems to have gotten worse in the last few months. I'm going to make an appt with the eye doctor and see what's what.
to let the doctor figure it out ,I hope it's nothing major and easy to remedy. Oh yes Chemo rearranges everything in it's path, that's why I am ducking it, with time I will find out if I am an idiot or a genius.
Even when you don't post I imagine you there and I hug.
Moli,-Nuff love
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Visual problems and lightheaded
I had my DaVinci surgery on 8/23. I have been lightheaded daily since. It's not 24/7 but it's enough that I am ffearful of driving. My BP is normal and I am eating appropriately. it is very random and inconsistent. I spoke to my gyn/once about it at my post op and he referred me to my PCP. I also saw spots daily for about a week post surgery. That has stopped but i am having difficulty reading and my vision is not as clear as it was pirior to the surgery. Its kind of like my glasses aren't helping as much anymore.
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