Anja, questions

[Guest guest]

Hi Anja

Here are my views on your questions about the surgery at Moorfields.

1. The lid lift is done through 3 small incisions above the eyebrow,

there is no cutting of the eyelid at all. There are quite a few

photos of kids after their surgery that will show you where the

incisions are.

2. Kirsten had her first surgery, the lid lift, at Moorfields. She

was in theatre for about an hour. She stayed in for 1 night. Her

eyes were unable to close for about 5 months while sleeping and I

had to use eye ointment at night to protect her corneas. She never

had a problem sleeping although it looked strange to look at. She

can now close her eyes at night, but if she falls asleep while

upright, e.g in her car seat, then her eyes are open for some

reason. The staff at Moorfields were lovely.

Her second op, the canthoplasty was done at Harley Street clinic.

She was in theatre for 1 hour and 40 minutes. She had a bandage/

plaster over her eyes which looked like a big 'x' across her

forehead and over the bridge of her nose towards her cheeks. That

was removed early the following morning. She stayed in hospital

again for 1 night and managed remarkably well to see even though her

eyes were very swollen. The staff again were great, but neither op

demanded much of their attention. I stayed in both hospitals

overnight with her.

3. Recovery time: Her lid lift was done at a time when she was still

having an afternoon nap, and I put ointment in her eyes when she

woke up and before she had a nap or went to bed. She went back to

school after 1 week and the nursery teachers put the ointment in

when needed. There was very little swelling at all and no visible

stitches to worry about.

The canthoplasty has been much the same. The swelling went down over

about 4 days and she wanted to go back to school 2 days after

surgery. I kept her at home for 9 days and then sent her back to

school as normal. I felt obliged to keep her at home because she has

visible stitches that will only fall out after 3 - 4 weeks and felt

that it was unfair on the teachers to be responsible for her. But

she was so well and they were happy to have her that I sent her back

to school within 10 days.

4. Costs: Yes, the NHS does cover the costs, but we are fortunate to

have insurance that will pay for her surgery and so we use it. It

came in useful when her date for the canthoplasty was postponed and

we got a second theatre date sooner than we would have if we had

been NHS patients. You will have to confirm with Mr Collin's

secretary what his charges are, but the most expensive charge is for

the hospital which can be in excess of 1000 pounds for the 2 days,

excluding surgeon and anaesthetists bills. The good thing is that

the surgery should last for life and hopefully will not need to be

repeated, so your first chance is really the best chance, I think.

I hope I have answered your questions. Please feel free to ask any

other questions. If anyone else wishes to comment on Anja's

concerns, please also do so! I feel Kirsten's op has taken centre

stage and there are so many other fab results and other's stories to

be told.

Best regards

P