Thanks mblack!
Your answer did help a lot. I was feeling indecisive and I feel more reassured now.
Your answer did help a lot. I was feeling indecisive and I feel more reassured now.
Hello Kymberly,
I have been on restasis for about three months now. My eyes did improve after a month or so, they were extremely dry in the mornings when I woke up and now they are feeling much better. They are still red somewhat so now I'm going for cauterization of my tear ducts.
I also have pings on both my eyes and they do feel better although they are still there. Restasis works for me, at first I felt a little ping when I put the drops in, but now I don't feel anything and my eyes are better.
About surgery I'm just going for cauterization for now.
Hope this helps a little.
I have been on restasis for about three months now. My eyes did improve after a month or so, they were extremely dry in the mornings when I woke up and now they are feeling much better. They are still red somewhat so now I'm going for cauterization of my tear ducts.
I also have pings on both my eyes and they do feel better although they are still there. Restasis works for me, at first I felt a little ping when I put the drops in, but now I don't feel anything and my eyes are better.
About surgery I'm just going for cauterization for now.
Hope this helps a little.
Thanks for your info. I have the yellow growths in my eyes that have increased in size and discomfort over time. At first, it was only in 1 eye and then progressed slowly to the second starting at 16 or 17. At 20, it started in the other eye with a nearly microscopic dot.
Recently I felt like there was glass in my eye. When I blinked, it was as if glass was rubbing down my eye caused from the lid. As it turns out, the pinguecula actually grew calcium spikes that were cutting my eyelid. So, sitting in a chair, the doctor numbs my eye and then tells me to keep my eyes open (nothing to help here just will) while he cuts with a small pair of scissors the calcium spike that grew from the ping. I have had this same very painful and scary procedure twice (what if he slips, what if I close my eye or back-up because of the pain) and now am fed up with the doctors telling me that I should not have surgery to remove the ugly, painful little pings. Bottom line: I am moving forward with the surgery to relieve myself of over 20 years of stress watching these little yellow bumps grow in my eyes and cause pain for me. I hope people who have had the surgery can provide more insight regarding the longer term outcome. Thanks for the help!!
Recently I felt like there was glass in my eye. When I blinked, it was as if glass was rubbing down my eye caused from the lid. As it turns out, the pinguecula actually grew calcium spikes that were cutting my eyelid. So, sitting in a chair, the doctor numbs my eye and then tells me to keep my eyes open (nothing to help here just will) while he cuts with a small pair of scissors the calcium spike that grew from the ping. I have had this same very painful and scary procedure twice (what if he slips, what if I close my eye or back-up because of the pain) and now am fed up with the doctors telling me that I should not have surgery to remove the ugly, painful little pings. Bottom line: I am moving forward with the surgery to relieve myself of over 20 years of stress watching these little yellow bumps grow in my eyes and cause pain for me. I hope people who have had the surgery can provide more insight regarding the longer term outcome. Thanks for the help!!
Hi Kymberly,
I'm not sure if you are considering having them removed but I saw no other option. I suggest you go to the beginning of this blog and read all of the posts from everyone; this helped me to decide that surgery with Harvard Eye Clinic was the best route. I'm not sure where you live or if it is feasible to get there and have it done but I was willing to pay almost anything to have my pings removed. I had one in each eye, nasal side for about 10 years or more. My eyes were extremely dry, irritated, and red all the time. The pings were inflamed a lot and red veins extended from them. It sounds like you are experiencing similar, if not worse, symptoms. I tried every eye drop on the market, even Restasis, I had LASIK because I thought it was my contacts that were making my eyes dry, and I tried punctal plugs and even had my tear ducts cauterized, which means they are permanently closed. Anyway, It will be three weeks this Weds. since I had my pings removed at Harvard Eye Clinic. Dr. John Hovanesian is the one who is the expert and surgeon who will do it. I suggest to google them and go to their website and read up on the procedure. It is called a conjuntivital autograft technique and took only about twenty-thirty minutes for the actual surgery part. They gave me a twilight anesthesia which means I was asleep but they could talk to me if they needed to. I don't really remember anything from the surgery and it was painless. My eyes were a little sore the next day but Tylenol worked for that. My eyes have had a blood-spot where they put the graft on for three weeks but they don't hurt and it is a normal part of the healing process. They look better every day and they feel like there is so much more moisture in them already. I would not have any other procedure besides a graft procedure done because the re-occurence rate is only 1-2% with the graft as opposed to the excision which has a 50-60% re-occurence rate. Most doctors, if not all, will tell you just to keep using eye drops and not to worry about the pings but this website helped me realize that I was not crazy to be severely uncomfortable from them. Anyway, Harvard Eye Clinic is extremely flexible if you are coming from out of town but you will have to stay near there for about 8 days. They also have financing options available which are pretty good. I don't have pictures to post but maybe you can see if Harvard Eye can e-mail you some. I can just say this, and I know some other people on this blog feel the same way, that surgery was the best decision I ever made! My eyes were always tired looking all the time and had the unsightly pings in each eye, constantly red, burning, stinging, itchy, irritated, sensation of a foreign object, etc. and now only three weeks after surgery, they feel wonderful. They still look red in the corners but are getting better every day. I wear sunglasses everywhere, and will still do so in the future for protection, even inside, and nobody says anything. I am a college student so I was a little nervous about the look of my eyes in the classroom but it actually has not been bad at all. Some of my friends thought it looked like pink eye or would ask what I had done and I would say eye surgery for dryness and that's the extent of it. One more thing to not mislead you but I am still using my natural tears drops but not nearly as often as I had to before. I think my eyes are just dry anyways because my aunt has a ping in one eye and it does not bother her at all. Feel free to ask anything else and I hope this helps. Regards, Meaghan
I'm not sure if you are considering having them removed but I saw no other option. I suggest you go to the beginning of this blog and read all of the posts from everyone; this helped me to decide that surgery with Harvard Eye Clinic was the best route. I'm not sure where you live or if it is feasible to get there and have it done but I was willing to pay almost anything to have my pings removed. I had one in each eye, nasal side for about 10 years or more. My eyes were extremely dry, irritated, and red all the time. The pings were inflamed a lot and red veins extended from them. It sounds like you are experiencing similar, if not worse, symptoms. I tried every eye drop on the market, even Restasis, I had LASIK because I thought it was my contacts that were making my eyes dry, and I tried punctal plugs and even had my tear ducts cauterized, which means they are permanently closed. Anyway, It will be three weeks this Weds. since I had my pings removed at Harvard Eye Clinic. Dr. John Hovanesian is the one who is the expert and surgeon who will do it. I suggest to google them and go to their website and read up on the procedure. It is called a conjuntivital autograft technique and took only about twenty-thirty minutes for the actual surgery part. They gave me a twilight anesthesia which means I was asleep but they could talk to me if they needed to. I don't really remember anything from the surgery and it was painless. My eyes were a little sore the next day but Tylenol worked for that. My eyes have had a blood-spot where they put the graft on for three weeks but they don't hurt and it is a normal part of the healing process. They look better every day and they feel like there is so much more moisture in them already. I would not have any other procedure besides a graft procedure done because the re-occurence rate is only 1-2% with the graft as opposed to the excision which has a 50-60% re-occurence rate. Most doctors, if not all, will tell you just to keep using eye drops and not to worry about the pings but this website helped me realize that I was not crazy to be severely uncomfortable from them. Anyway, Harvard Eye Clinic is extremely flexible if you are coming from out of town but you will have to stay near there for about 8 days. They also have financing options available which are pretty good. I don't have pictures to post but maybe you can see if Harvard Eye can e-mail you some. I can just say this, and I know some other people on this blog feel the same way, that surgery was the best decision I ever made! My eyes were always tired looking all the time and had the unsightly pings in each eye, constantly red, burning, stinging, itchy, irritated, sensation of a foreign object, etc. and now only three weeks after surgery, they feel wonderful. They still look red in the corners but are getting better every day. I wear sunglasses everywhere, and will still do so in the future for protection, even inside, and nobody says anything. I am a college student so I was a little nervous about the look of my eyes in the classroom but it actually has not been bad at all. Some of my friends thought it looked like pink eye or would ask what I had done and I would say eye surgery for dryness and that's the extent of it. One more thing to not mislead you but I am still using my natural tears drops but not nearly as often as I had to before. I think my eyes are just dry anyways because my aunt has a ping in one eye and it does not bother her at all. Feel free to ask anything else and I hope this helps. Regards, Meaghan
Forgot to say in my last post that the graft procedure is the route to take not only for the much lower re-occurence rate but also for the cost. The techniques cost about the same amount of money and why pay almost as much for the excision if there is a 50-60% chance the pings or pterygium may come back even worse than before? Again, the re-occurence rate with the graft technique is only 1-2% and I think Dr. Hovanesian at Harvard Eye has never had a patient have them grow back for the several years and few thousand operations he has performed. Do not let doctors excise the pingueculas or pterygiums!!!
Hi liguistaman,
I suggest reading all the previous posts on this blog to get info. on different people's experiences at Harvard Eye. I am still in the healing process and it's been about three weeks now. The surgery went very well and there were and are no issues. They said it takes about a month to heal completely and that seems to be very accurate. My eyes are looking better all the time. They felt better almost immediately after the surgery, i.e. dryness subsided, no stinging, burning, sensation of foreign object, etc. I highly recommend Dr. Hovanesian and Harvard Eye Clinic and I came all the way from New York to have my pings removed. There is a blood-spot in each corner of my eye where the graft was put on but that is a normal part of the healing process and it doesn't even happen to some people, but they look better every day and feel great. Good luck with your surgery! Cheers, Meaghan
I suggest reading all the previous posts on this blog to get info. on different people's experiences at Harvard Eye. I am still in the healing process and it's been about three weeks now. The surgery went very well and there were and are no issues. They said it takes about a month to heal completely and that seems to be very accurate. My eyes are looking better all the time. They felt better almost immediately after the surgery, i.e. dryness subsided, no stinging, burning, sensation of foreign object, etc. I highly recommend Dr. Hovanesian and Harvard Eye Clinic and I came all the way from New York to have my pings removed. There is a blood-spot in each corner of my eye where the graft was put on but that is a normal part of the healing process and it doesn't even happen to some people, but they look better every day and feel great. Good luck with your surgery! Cheers, Meaghan
I went to the web site and completed the form on Wednesday of last week. I have not yet received a reply. Just curious, how long does it normally take between call and 1st appt and then surgery date? I luckily live in So. Cal (Camarillo) - about a 2 hour drive - so no big travel required.
Like you, I am willing to put before and after pix. I think what is missing from this dialogue and other posts is time phased photos. For example, what do I look like in 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, etc.
Thanks for the feedback. It all helps!
Like you, I am willing to put before and after pix. I think what is missing from this dialogue and other posts is time phased photos. For example, what do I look like in 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, etc.
Thanks for the feedback. It all helps!
Hi Kymberly,
I did have trouble getting in touch with someone via e-mail/internet so I suggest you call them directly at either office, San Clemente or Laguna Hills. They are very prompt with getting surgery scheduled and other appts. I also highly emphasize to tell them that you are coming from out of town and want to have both eyes done on the same day. Not only will this be cheaper because of the Cali law that allows eye doctors to only charge full price for one eye and half price for the other eye if they are operated on in the same day, and, they will both be healing at the same time. Pictures really do not make much of a difference because everyone heals differently and has different size pingueculas. If you read all of the blogs in this section you will see that some people healed completely after 2-3 weeks, whereas some people healed completely after two months. As for me, it will be three weeks tomorrow and my right eye is still quite red in the corner but they are both looking better every day. Other people on the blog have said that after they healed completely they could not even tell anything had been done and their eyes were perfectly white and ping-free. I really don't think anyone mentioned scarring or regretted having the surgery. It is to early for me to tell you what mine are going to look like because I am still healing. Recovery is not bad at all except for how they look but again, that varies from person to person. You just have to keep in mind that after they heal they will look perfectly white and be ping-free and have no discomfort such as they had before. Just follow all of the recovery procedures explicitly as they tell you to. They give you eye shields to wear at bedtime for one week to prevent rubbing the graft out of place but I wore mine for two weeks just to be safe. Just be very stringent with the eye drops and take some supplemental vitamins prior to surgery and during the healing process which may make it go faster. All I can emphasize is that if the pings are really bothering you, and I don't just mean aesthetically, then the best decision you can make is to have them removed at Harvard Eye Clinic with Dr. Hovanesian. If you really want to see pictures google them or call Harvard Eye and ask them to e-mail you some. When you call, tell them that you want to have the conjunctivital autograft technique done to remove your pingueculas. They will ask you to take close-up pictures of your pings to determine if you are a candidate for surgery. This just means if they are big enough to remove or not. I also suggest to send Dr. Hovanesian an e-mail along with your pictures explaining how much discomfort your pings cause you, especially with the calcium growths. And if you do not hear back as soon as you would like to know if you are a candidate for surgery or not, call and bother them about it. They are very professional and nice people and they made me feel very relaxed and comfortable prior to, during, and after my surgery. ~Meaghan
I did have trouble getting in touch with someone via e-mail/internet so I suggest you call them directly at either office, San Clemente or Laguna Hills. They are very prompt with getting surgery scheduled and other appts. I also highly emphasize to tell them that you are coming from out of town and want to have both eyes done on the same day. Not only will this be cheaper because of the Cali law that allows eye doctors to only charge full price for one eye and half price for the other eye if they are operated on in the same day, and, they will both be healing at the same time. Pictures really do not make much of a difference because everyone heals differently and has different size pingueculas. If you read all of the blogs in this section you will see that some people healed completely after 2-3 weeks, whereas some people healed completely after two months. As for me, it will be three weeks tomorrow and my right eye is still quite red in the corner but they are both looking better every day. Other people on the blog have said that after they healed completely they could not even tell anything had been done and their eyes were perfectly white and ping-free. I really don't think anyone mentioned scarring or regretted having the surgery. It is to early for me to tell you what mine are going to look like because I am still healing. Recovery is not bad at all except for how they look but again, that varies from person to person. You just have to keep in mind that after they heal they will look perfectly white and be ping-free and have no discomfort such as they had before. Just follow all of the recovery procedures explicitly as they tell you to. They give you eye shields to wear at bedtime for one week to prevent rubbing the graft out of place but I wore mine for two weeks just to be safe. Just be very stringent with the eye drops and take some supplemental vitamins prior to surgery and during the healing process which may make it go faster. All I can emphasize is that if the pings are really bothering you, and I don't just mean aesthetically, then the best decision you can make is to have them removed at Harvard Eye Clinic with Dr. Hovanesian. If you really want to see pictures google them or call Harvard Eye and ask them to e-mail you some. When you call, tell them that you want to have the conjunctivital autograft technique done to remove your pingueculas. They will ask you to take close-up pictures of your pings to determine if you are a candidate for surgery. This just means if they are big enough to remove or not. I also suggest to send Dr. Hovanesian an e-mail along with your pictures explaining how much discomfort your pings cause you, especially with the calcium growths. And if you do not hear back as soon as you would like to know if you are a candidate for surgery or not, call and bother them about it. They are very professional and nice people and they made me feel very relaxed and comfortable prior to, during, and after my surgery. ~Meaghan
I undergo a Lasik surgery last year, but it was a tough decision for me because my girl told me that im too young to undergo such surgery (she’s referring to the risk involved in the said surgery) but a friend of mine already did it 2 years priory to my LASik and he shared his knowledge and informed the risk pros and cons about LASik. He also mentioned that as with any surgical procedures, there are risk associated with LAsik, but in the hand of highly skilled and experience surgeon. Reason I made up a decision that im going to do it. For almost 20 years i suffered astigmatism and ive been wearing contact lens for almost half of my life, made me not to do things to the fullest. After surgery for 2 months I experienced night side effects (halos) but after that, I able to see without the help of neither glasses nor contacts. The best part of it is I can now do things to the fullest like diving and some stuff that I like to do since I was young. I consider having LASik a wonderful and a life changing experience to me. Im very proud and contented with my life right now and I feel good and look good about it. It’s a life changing for me.
Meaghan,
I met with Dr. H yesterday at Harvard Eye regarding the removal of ping's. He was cautious about claiming that the whites of my eyes would be white again but did say I would benefit from the surgery. He does not want to be too optimistic. He stated the biggest risk from the surgery is infection from the glue since it contains human blood. I asked him bottom line if I was his wife, would he still recommend this surgery. He stated that he thinks of all patients in this way and it would provide a beneift for me.
I have scheduled the surgery for both eyes on March 15th, 2008.
One eye will be "blocked" completely (left) and the other eye with be partially blocked (numbed). Apparently I will have no vision in my left eye for 8 hours; right eye for 4 hours. The fee for both eyes is high and insurance does not cover my surgery. There is a reduction in the fee if both eyes are done on the same day as you mentioned but there is also a higher risk of infection. E
Even though I am in a PPO and have experienced calcium growths and office surgeries for calcium spike removal, twice, this surgery is still considered cosmetic; both eyes. I plan to discuss this further with Dr. H and the insurance company since calcium continues to grow on the ping in my left eye and will eventually cause the same problems - requiring mini-surgeries at a higher long term cost for the insurance carrier. Either way, my plan is to move forward with the surgery. It would have been great to have more optimism from Dr. H but maybe it his nature to be cautious.
Meghan, I am terrible at blogging. Are you aware of any LONG TERM feedback regarding the outcome of this surgery (after 3 months for example) other than the video on Harvard Eye's website?
Thanks!
I met with Dr. H yesterday at Harvard Eye regarding the removal of ping's. He was cautious about claiming that the whites of my eyes would be white again but did say I would benefit from the surgery. He does not want to be too optimistic. He stated the biggest risk from the surgery is infection from the glue since it contains human blood. I asked him bottom line if I was his wife, would he still recommend this surgery. He stated that he thinks of all patients in this way and it would provide a beneift for me.
I have scheduled the surgery for both eyes on March 15th, 2008.
One eye will be "blocked" completely (left) and the other eye with be partially blocked (numbed). Apparently I will have no vision in my left eye for 8 hours; right eye for 4 hours. The fee for both eyes is high and insurance does not cover my surgery. There is a reduction in the fee if both eyes are done on the same day as you mentioned but there is also a higher risk of infection. E
Even though I am in a PPO and have experienced calcium growths and office surgeries for calcium spike removal, twice, this surgery is still considered cosmetic; both eyes. I plan to discuss this further with Dr. H and the insurance company since calcium continues to grow on the ping in my left eye and will eventually cause the same problems - requiring mini-surgeries at a higher long term cost for the insurance carrier. Either way, my plan is to move forward with the surgery. It would have been great to have more optimism from Dr. H but maybe it his nature to be cautious.
Meghan, I am terrible at blogging. Are you aware of any LONG TERM feedback regarding the outcome of this surgery (after 3 months for example) other than the video on Harvard Eye's website?
Thanks!
Hi Kymberly,
It is unfortunate that insurance companies and most doctors consider pings cosmetic but if they only had to experience them firsthand, it would probably be a different story. Anyways, you're right about Dr. H being cautious with what he tells you but I know he can help you. It has been over three weeks since my surgery and my eyes are looking so much better. They feel wonderful too. My left eye is almost healed all the way and my right eye still has a little redness in the corner but it has improved so much. I would not worry about what Dr. H said about the whites of your eyes not being white because mine look like they will be at least whiter than when I had the pings and another girl on this blog said that her eyes are perfectly white after they healed completely. I am happy to hear that you scheduled a surgery date and would urge you to go ahead with it just for the fact that you experience the calcium deposits. Talk to Dr. H and see if he can tell your insurance company that it is a medically necessary procedure. Otherwise, maybe you can finance it through their office. I think there are several plans to choose from and one of them does not charge interest if you pay it off in a year. Also, I would not worry about infections if you are very careful with your eyes after surgery and do everything they tell you to do to take care of your eyes. Most things they said to do for a week I did for two weeks just to be safe. Dr. H just has to tell you that to cover his back. I think this surgery will turn out to be the best thing you can ever so for yourself. I will keep you posted on my further recovery. As for three months after healing, I don't know anything other than what was on Harvard Eye's website and what other people have said on this blog, which all seem to be great feedback and hopeful. I suggest that you have both eyes done on the same day too because the recovery will take the same amount of time and it will be cheaper. I suggest taking as much time off from work as you can to rest and take naps to help heal faster. Also, I recommend taking vitamin supplements before surgery and during recovery and healing which will make it faster. Vitamin A,B, C, and E complex, CoEnzyme Q10, and Flax oil are the most important. Well, good luck and keep me posted with your progress. Meaghan
It is unfortunate that insurance companies and most doctors consider pings cosmetic but if they only had to experience them firsthand, it would probably be a different story. Anyways, you're right about Dr. H being cautious with what he tells you but I know he can help you. It has been over three weeks since my surgery and my eyes are looking so much better. They feel wonderful too. My left eye is almost healed all the way and my right eye still has a little redness in the corner but it has improved so much. I would not worry about what Dr. H said about the whites of your eyes not being white because mine look like they will be at least whiter than when I had the pings and another girl on this blog said that her eyes are perfectly white after they healed completely. I am happy to hear that you scheduled a surgery date and would urge you to go ahead with it just for the fact that you experience the calcium deposits. Talk to Dr. H and see if he can tell your insurance company that it is a medically necessary procedure. Otherwise, maybe you can finance it through their office. I think there are several plans to choose from and one of them does not charge interest if you pay it off in a year. Also, I would not worry about infections if you are very careful with your eyes after surgery and do everything they tell you to do to take care of your eyes. Most things they said to do for a week I did for two weeks just to be safe. Dr. H just has to tell you that to cover his back. I think this surgery will turn out to be the best thing you can ever so for yourself. I will keep you posted on my further recovery. As for three months after healing, I don't know anything other than what was on Harvard Eye's website and what other people have said on this blog, which all seem to be great feedback and hopeful. I suggest that you have both eyes done on the same day too because the recovery will take the same amount of time and it will be cheaper. I suggest taking as much time off from work as you can to rest and take naps to help heal faster. Also, I recommend taking vitamin supplements before surgery and during recovery and healing which will make it faster. Vitamin A,B, C, and E complex, CoEnzyme Q10, and Flax oil are the most important. Well, good luck and keep me posted with your progress. Meaghan
Can we try to look at the bright side ....believe me, I am not the most optimistic person here but I am trying to be ...
For who can not afford the surgery, is not qualified or for any other reason has to live with his/her ping let's try to find the bright side :
- It could have been worse (it could have been a pterygia but it's not!! yeehh!! :-)).
- If it doesn't bother you physically (like in my case), it can be viewed as an "interesting" thing ... that is you, you have this sign in your eye, you are different, not essentially in a bad way, as I mentioned in another post, some people told me it looks "cool" .... why not taking that "cool" word and associate it with a ping? Pings can be cool if they do not bother you physically (they do bother me aesthetically, believe me but I am trying to make it sound cool for me and whoever has to live with it).
Play this game with me .. there must be other reasons why pings are not that bad :-)
I would do the surgery though I am scared of the consequences as my eye doesn't bother me at all, it only looks "cool" ;-) .... and also, couldn't afford it right now and plus, talking to a eye doc in California I learned that the majority of the population in Cali has a ping in their eye (if you live there, look around and let us know if it's true :-)) .... this is pretty common in the warmer States ...
Anyway, for who is not gonna have the surgey any time soon ... let's continue playing the "positive game" :-)
Pings are cool if they don't hurt, hitchm or dry your eye!
For who can not afford the surgery, is not qualified or for any other reason has to live with his/her ping let's try to find the bright side :
- It could have been worse (it could have been a pterygia but it's not!! yeehh!! :-)).
- If it doesn't bother you physically (like in my case), it can be viewed as an "interesting" thing ... that is you, you have this sign in your eye, you are different, not essentially in a bad way, as I mentioned in another post, some people told me it looks "cool" .... why not taking that "cool" word and associate it with a ping? Pings can be cool if they do not bother you physically (they do bother me aesthetically, believe me but I am trying to make it sound cool for me and whoever has to live with it).
Play this game with me .. there must be other reasons why pings are not that bad :-)
I would do the surgery though I am scared of the consequences as my eye doesn't bother me at all, it only looks "cool" ;-) .... and also, couldn't afford it right now and plus, talking to a eye doc in California I learned that the majority of the population in Cali has a ping in their eye (if you live there, look around and let us know if it's true :-)) .... this is pretty common in the warmer States ...
Anyway, for who is not gonna have the surgey any time soon ... let's continue playing the "positive game" :-)
Pings are cool if they don't hurt, hitchm or dry your eye!
FYI. That first date was incorrect. I am scheduled for Wednesday.
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