by
SheWolf » Wed Sep 24, 2014 7:15 pm
Thanks crocus.
Dad has now been assessed and the doctor said they will do the operation, but due to the added complications (dementia/deafness) they said he has to go to another hospital for the op, which deals with the more complex cases. The waiting list is 3 months, which would take us into the Christmas/New Year holiday period which may well add to the wait, so we decided to have the operation done at a private hospital. Cost is around £2,400 including sedation, for one eye. They will not use GA but will "freeze" the eye completely if necessary, due to Dad not being good with hearing/following instructions (the medics struggled getting him to keep still etc for the tests).
So Dad will have his private op in a couple of weeks and maybe have the other eye done on the NHS when/if it needs doing. The carers will put in the eye drops for him, but I'm concerned about the infection risk afterwards, as Dad is not good on the personal hygiene front (doesn't often wash his hands after the toilet, etc). One thing I can do is to give his nails a thorough clean and cut them short, just before the operation. (He doesn't often let the carers do them and they sometimes get filthy, long and ragged, between my manicure sessions.) I'd hate the surgeon's good work to be undermined by him rubbing his eye with filthy nails and scratching it. (Probably overworrying but have to do what I can to get him through this op.)