Straighteyes.com

As a child I had surgery on both my eyes, two right, one on the left. I have worn corrective lenses since the age of 5 yrs. As an adult (pre HMO days) I was referred by my ophthalmologist to a pediatric ophthalmic surgeon and subsequently had two more surgeries on my right eye which rather than pointing inward as in childhood, now was pointed outwardly more and more as the years passed. In my career I had always worked with the public and went through the same issues as others with this condition. Tilting of the head to align objects, people turning around to see who I was looking at when looking directly at them, people not knowing where to look at my eyes directly, often switching from one to the other, choosing the correct place to sit in social or business situations so the "good" eye was what they would see, and avoiding having photos taken, the list goes on.

Finally , it was too much. My optometrist indicated I had a real problem and referred me to an ophthalmologist, one of three that ended evaluating me overtime with me giving up each time until third and last when I said enough and began to fight back. First ophthalmologist, who was about 90 years old said he did not do the surgery bu that the eyes looked fine to him and refused to refer me elsewhere. Second one used scare tactics to dissuade me, indicating that not only did he not do the surgery, but that if I found someone who would my eye would end up "frozen" in the socket and useless. That was enough for me to end the search until it became progressively worse. I was given another referral from the optometrist and a final referral upward to a specialist in the field.

The end of the story...not a chance. The HMO Group where I am a member gave me referral to specialists. Before going to their offices I inquired if they in fact did this type of surgery. None did. This was the beginning of the Mutual Aggravation Society. There were numerous calls back and forth between the group and myself and the referral doctors.

They apparently did not have an Adult Strabismus Surgeon in the group. Eventually left it to me to find someone and gave me a referral to Dr. Jotterand who I found online. An outside contract was written after phone calls, negotiations and huge effort on the part of Dr. Jotterand and her staff. I began to climb the mountain but they were all right by my side, if not ahead.

Dr. Jotterand performed my surgery. Because this was my fifth surgery on the eye it was under general anaesthesia. I am GREAT. Both my eyes are looking straight ahead. Esthetically my eyes are WONDERFUL. I will admit vanity does play a part overall but the greatest thing that happened when she tested my eyes is my vision has also improved. My double vision is stabilizing and I believe will disappear completely, something I have had my entire life. Here is the very best part...all my life the only letter I could see on the eye chart with my right eye was the first one...E...that's it, no more...my post operative exam I saw and read the second line and one letter of the third. A small thing? I think not, a very HUGE thing for me.

Dr. Jotterand is totally focused on her work, my eyes. She is a brilliant surgeon and is open and friendly answering any and all questions that I have. She has chosen an office staff that is not only a complement to her but should be a model for the entire medical community.

If I had words of advice for anyone seeking this type of surgery as an adult it would be NEVER GIVE UP...and...CHOOSE DR. VERONIQUE JOTTERAND. If it were your child you would fight. You deserve the same for yourself. No one should suffer medically or emotionally when there is an answer to their vision problems or issues.

Sincerely,
Sandra R. Bahan, AGE 61