I have had this problem for about a month. My cat scratched my left eye. I am going to a corneal specialist. They have already done a debridement on my eye last week and today they are going to do the stromal puncture. I am curious to hear from others with this condition. I have been reading the posts and it seems like no one has had a procedure done. I find that my doctors believe it is necessary to try and control the problem as soon as possible. I really would like to hear from anyone with this problem and also anyone who has had the puncture procedure done. It is really torture to deal with the pain. I find myself almost living in fear of it happening. Thank you very much for any support you can give!
I went to the doctor today and he decided to wait and see before doing the ASP. If it cracks again then we will do it. Anyway, I posted earlier and would really like to hear from someone with rce. Also, I keep reading to warm the Muro ointment, but it burns when I put it in my eye so I keep it in the refrigerator and it has been much more comfortable to use.
Hi SRoman, I suffered with RCE for 3 years before finally giving in and having stromal puncture done last Fall. Actually they did it 3 separate times over the course of 2 months. The doc wanted to keep a bandage lens in for 3 months after the procedure in order for the eye to heal but I still had erosions with the lens in place and unfortunately I got a blister under the cornea due to the eye being starved for oxygen with the lens in there. He took the lens out and I continued to get erosions but less frequent than before the procedures (it was happening several times/week and sometimes several times/night). It has now been several weeks and I'm hoping that things have finally settled down. I used Muro, both drops and ointment, for over 3 years and finally decided that it seemed to be making matters worse, so I started using Tears Naturale drops during the day and upon awakening at night before opening my eyes and I use Genteal Gel before bed and also each time I awaken. This seems to be working much better for me. The gel tends to crust on my lashes which helps to keep the lid shut at night.
Thank you so much for responding. I got the impression that the stromal puncture usually cures this problem. From what I am reading here I am wondering if there is a possible cure.
Thank you so much for responding. I got the impression that the stromal puncture usually cures this problem. From what I am reading here I am wondering if there is a possible cure.
Hi Sroman -
There used to be a long thread about RCE on here with all kinds of hints and treatment methods, and stromal puncture was discussed heavily there - generally people don't like the stromal puncture.
Anyone who has had this knows what you mean about living in fear, but don't worry about not finding a solution - there are interventional techniques that will certainly work, and noninterventional things that might. For some with mild cases, non-interventional techniqes that you can read about here will work - they mainly involve techniques with drops, Muro, sleeping position, Doxycycline, etc. They won't work in the more severe cases, but can help. I think you already found the shorter thread (called "RCE"). For the time being, try those techniques while finding a good corneal specialist.
I had RCE for about four years, the last two of which were really bad (episodes at least 3-4 times a week, taking off most of the top corneal layer). I tried every noninterventional thing out there. Then I tried anterior stromal puncture (ASP) twice, which did not work. It has about 50% rate, but I think it really only works for mild cases as well. PTK laser surgery stopped it dead in its tracks for me, and I haven't had one erosion since. A good PTK surgeon would have probably 95% success with it, and 100% on a second try. A corneal specialist who does not do laser surgeries may not suggest it and only do ASP. Again, try non-interventional things until you find a good doc that you are very comfortable with.
A lot of what path you choose depends on your injury and severity, and how comfortable you are with interventional techniques. How deep was the scratch? How often are the erosions? Are they in the morning (most common) or anytime during the day? Was there infection? Are they getting better? Do you have a corneal dystrophy?
Hello
I am new to the board, but not new to the pain of cornea erosion. I have had this problem for more than 6 months and I was told yesterday that I will have to have out patient surgery? Do you know of anyone that might have had this done? I am in so much pain now that my eye was closed shut from all the tearing...
I have RCE, but it is due to another medical condition, keratoconjunctivitis, that can not be cured. I've had it for 25years. The pain of this condition is some the worst I've ever had. I'd give anything to be able to have what I call "the majic numbing drops" that the eye doctor puts in
Hello
I am new to the board, but not new to the pain of cornea erosion. I have had this problem for more than 6 months and I was told yesterday that I will have to have out patient surgery? Do you know of anyone that might have had this done? I am in so much pain now that my eye was closed shut from all the tearing...
What kind of outpatient surgery?
I had both anterior stromal puncture (twice - and it didn't work) and PTK laser surgery (which worked like a charm). Both are outpatient, although with PTK you'll probably have to miss work for a few days. With the puncture, they poke a needle in the site of the erosions to make the surface a little rougher. With PTK, they do the opposite: Smooth the cornea down. PTK has a very high success rate (>90%) while the puncture is at best about 50%.
I had RCE for about 4 years, with the last year of it complete misery - I was having ~75% of my epithelium eroding away every single day. I'd get events any time of the day - while driving, eating dinner, sleeping, etc.
The day I had PTK was the last time I ever had an erosion, and that was 5 years ago.
I had RCE since August 2006 off and on. My new doc want to try the puncture proceedure. I am wondering if I could request the PtK surgery and by pass the puncture. I don't want to deal with this issue for months and years...
Chuck,
when I first had my injury my doctor explained the possiblity of recurrent erosion and use of a laser (which I understand now is PTK) should they keep recurring. So far things have been going alright, if they should get worse I will definitely talk to him about that option. You are the patient, you do have a say about your treatment. After all I've heard from other folks, I wouldn't want to do anything less myself.
On a side note...funny thing, during a follow up visit--one of the assistants was a bit chatty and started talking about what treatment may have to be done. None of which was what the doctor told me directly. Good thing I do my homework, I could've been freaked out by the description the assistant gave!
To all these threads: A question Am I right in thinking Corneal Erosion is Corneal Ulcer?
I posted a thread about my Corneal Ulcer, with no replies, so perhaps it is different or the discussion has been exausted. Anyway if it is the same, It is helpful reading these threads.
They are two different things. The ucler is an infection. The erosion generally is an injury of the cornea by an object i.e. getting poked in the eye by something. The "recurrent erosion" is when you have suffered an abrasion and the cornea surface is weak and subsequent "scraping" of cells of the cornea occurs.
I'm going to guess that you can get RCE as a result of an ulcer as the cornea has been compromised. If you search the this board you will find posts referring to "corneal ulcer".
I just discovered this site and am extremely glad I did. I was just diagosed with rce a week ago and it has been unbearable. My doctor gave me Nevanac for the first few days to help with the pain, now I am using Refresh Tears 4+ times a day and Muro at night. I swear the pain is worse now than it was last week when I went to the doctor. My eye is also getting incredibly red in the white areas of the affected eye. Any suggestions on what could be causing this? It is getting progressively worse, along with my sensitivity to light. I have noticed that my night vision also seems to be worse. Is this common? I must admit that it is kind of disheartening to see how many people have struggled with this for years and years (I read the old thread), without finding much relief. However it is also good to hear the success stories. Thanks to everyone for sharing!
Sorry to hear you are experiencing RCE. I'm afraid I don't have any advice. Once I got over the initial injury and pain I have managed my discomfort with a contact lens. I'll be getting close to a year since my injury and I can't get by more than a couple nights without the lens before having an erosion. I'm managing it, but it is frustrating.
Chuck, I just happen to wander over to the board since I haven't been by in a while and I just assumed everything was going good for you. I'll check the other thread too. Hope you are doing okay since the procedure.
I am set up for my puncture proceedure tomorrow. My doc is confident it will likely solve and fix the problem. I am not looking forward to the pain.
I just discovered this bulletin board in my search for what to expect from a puncture procedure. I have had RCE for about a year, had PTK in March which work great, except there was still an area with some cysts that needed treatment (why they didn't take care of that with the PTK is still a big question in my mind) so now I need a puncture procedure. I have had 2 episodes now, am just waiting to have an episode when the dr is availabe to puncture me. I can't really find good information on how painful that is and what recovery from it is like. I found the PTD to be way more painful than the doc let me to believe, although it healed like a charm and that area has been great. I just wish they could have done that procedure to more of my eye and taken care of the entire problem at once.
Chuck, how are you doing? I would enjoy hearing about the procedure and your recovery. I hope all is well.
Funny I just had a MAJOR RCE last night almost 2 weeks from the debridgement and puncture. I saw the doc this morning got a BCL and he wanted to perform another debridgement (I said no way lets try the BCL for now) The initial debridgement was painless (numbing drops) and he put over a 100 punctures in the area of the eye. I was out for about 3 days with extreme pain for the first 4-26 hours and discomfort for 2-4 days. I had a BCL for a week then started using the muro everynight and for somereason last night got woken in extreme pain from a RCE BAD! I am following my steps from what I did yesterday. I worked in a dusty environment but did not feel any discomfort and used refresh tears numerous times??? Still no ryme or reason as to why, but I missed another bid day of work again. THis is really a nightmare so far. I have to go back again in 8 days to recheck it. The only thing that I can't recall was my sleeping position? I know I had some dreams light sleep last night if that matters? Maybe REM sleep did me in? THanks for your concern and I will keep you all posted from now on.
Glassgirl, how painful was the PTK? Hours/days? Do you know how big an area they did? My doc says the best is to do the entire cornea but that's a really scary thought for me. I had the puncture procedure 3 separate times. After he did it the 1st time I got another really bad erosion and he said it was in a different area from where he did the 1st puncture so he repeated the procedure in another spot and again a few weeks after that when a blister developed under the epthilium, possibly from the BCL he gave me after the 1st procedure. The pain was pretty bad for awhile after the anesthetic wore off after about 4 hours and uncomfortable for several days. I continued to have erosions, I think from the cornea sticking to the BCL, even though the BCL was supposed to help the healing, and was suddenly getting erosions anytime without warning and not just at night. After the 3rd procedure he removed the BCL, patched my eye for the 1st 24 hours, and after that it felt better. I've still had some minor erosions but nothing like it was before and they tell me that the next step is PTK but I'm hoping to avoid that option since I'm allergic to oral pain medication. I found that after the PTK, warm compresses helped with the pain. I used one of those Bed Buddy sinus packs you just heat up in the microwave.
Something I don't understand. How is it you can go weeks inbetween errosions? Why doesn't it happen nightly? Could something in the eyelids or something else be contributing to the errosions? Just wondering because you can't predict it. Far as the BCL sticking to the eye, my doc said the contact sits on the tear layer thus avoiding such occurences. Could you have dry eyes instead that causes the BCL to stick? Did the doc give you antibotic drops as well? Just wondering.
Recurrent Corneal Erosion 
Re: Recurrent Corneal Erosion 
