I need to make a decision about whether to go forward with partial retinal detachment surgery on my Mother who has Alzheimers disease. Mother never even communicated she was practically blind in one eye. Has anybody had the experience of going through surgery and post op with an alzheimers patient? I have many concerns about the potential anxiety the experience of surgery might cause for my mother and the worry about whether we would be able to deal with the post-op care considering her lack of understanding. She is in an alzheimers/dementia home now and would most likely have to be moved, temporarily, to a skilled nursing facility, after the surgery (she will have to sleep on her stomach and have her head faced down for most of the day for a week or longer). Anybody have experience with the surgery - no surgery decision? Of course, we run the risk of her losing site in that eye if we opt for no surgery. Thanks.

My father and mother in laws both had Alzheimers and traveled down different paths of symptoms. Between the 2 both showed progression when they had pain associated events. Such things as falls,burns and bruises really accelerated their disease.

I would want to really be sure the cure isn't worse than the problem. Hopefully her Alzheimer doctor feels like this is a wise thing to do.

Good Luck, God Bless, Mace