Evan's Eye Surgery

Evan was diagnosed with Epiphora due to fleshier than normal lower eyelids that cause his lower eyelashes to grow inwards. The eyelashes thus continuously rub against his cornea causing him much irritation and tearing.

Hence, surgery was proposed to correct this problem and he went
under the knife (with GA) on 28 Aug 2008. Principal procedure was -
Bilateral Hotz Procedure and Right Syringing and Probing. In english,
some skin in his lower eyelids were removed to allow his eyelashes to rest outwards.

Evan was initially very apprehensive about undergoing GA as he was
still haunted by a previous experience, and it took much coaxing and
hand-holding in order to put him at ease. Eventually, he did not make
a single squeak even as the drip needles and anesthesia was
administered and could be seen holding back his tears bravely. What a
boy... Bravo!

In the previous episode, he had woken up from GA (in another
operation) with a very full bladder and, still groggy from the effects
of GA, pee'd all over himself in the recovery room as he could not
control his actions then. As they also did not call me back in time, I was
not there waiting as they wheeled him out, and not having a familiar
face during his time of distress made him cry all the harder. So this
time... I made sure he emptied his bladder as best as he could.

We were also praying earnestly that all would be well and that the
Operating team would have steady hands, alert minds and a caring heart
throughout the procedure.

Our prayers were answered. Evan was wheeled out of the OR after
approximately 1.5 hours and this time, he did not suffer from the wild
effects of GA too! Instead, he chose to rest himself. He had rolled
himself to a comfortable position on the operating trolley and forced
himself to stay asleep for nearly an hour more. How did we know
this? Cos he would respond to my questions with a simple nod or shake
of the head but would refuse to get up no matter how much the doctors
and nurses coaxed him. Eventually, when the medical team was
confident he was alright but had just chosen to stay rested, they
allowed me to carry him back to his room where he continued to sleep
for another 3 hours.

His doc also met with us after the procedure to report that the
surgery went well and that they did not find any other complications
that might have needed attention too. He added that there were
stitches along both Evan's lower eyelids that that we should guard
against his accidental tearing at them.

Those fears were unfounded as Evan proved to be a lot mature than his
age. He allowed both eye bandages to remain intact all through the
night and only chose to remove them the following morning - as he was
being prepped for a follow-up consultation! Imagine... he voluntarily opted to stay "blind" the whole day and night knowing that it would aid his post-op recovery time! Remarkable!! Even his doctor remarked so when he came to know of this the next day.

It has been about a week since Evan's surgery, and he is due back in
for the removal of his stitches. We pray that his eyes will heal
totally and that there will be no evident permanent scarring along his
eyelids nor other side effects - cosmetic or otherwise.

Evan... you're incredible! Well done mate... we love you!!