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For almost 3 years when I took my aunt ( at age 98 )to her HMO she has been with for over 30 years. She has lived with me since 2016....it is now 2025. She suffers from "short term memory failure". To get to the point, she was finally, finally diagnosed with an "inverted lower eyelid" that was irritating the eyeball. It was NOT BLEPHARITIS. There is sooooo much in between to tell, of office visits, procedures and failing medicine. BUT Finally, I managed to get her to see an Occuloplasty Specialist for a "second" surgery procedure to repair the "lower hanging eyelid" from her rubbing the skin continuously. I got a pretty fair amount of resistance from the specialist because since my aunt was 101 years old by this time and it required a full and formal anesthesia. My aunt was questioned intensely, I was questioned intensely, however we finally managed to get the procedure done. The specialist was talented enough to do it right and in reality, they didn't want me bring my aunt back for anymore repair. I repeat... it was not Blepharitis. It was an inverted eyelid where the lashes irritated the eyeball. A lot of time, effort and money was put into this process to give my aunt back a decent appearance of her face and rid her of constant irritation. You have to fight for getting deserved results.

This is a post from August, sort of an update from a post previously made which has been closed. This person has not returned. Reporting to be closed for comments.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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My aunt had to have the same procedure. She was only in her 80s. Her ophthalmologist sent her to a plastic surgeon for the eyes and he took care of it. He was such a delightful doctor. I am so glad you were able to have it taken care of for your aunt.

I don’t remember my aunt having to have full anesthesia. But she didn’t have to deal with it for three years either.
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Reply to 97yroldmom
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Wow! Thank you for relating your story on Forum. You well may have helped others. Eye problems such as this are so common to elders, and mis-diagnosed can be SUCH a problem. This Forum is about information and you may well have helped others.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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I agree that if someone has a condition and the treatments and therapies ordered by the doctors are not providing improvement or healing, then second opinions are necessary. I'm so sorry she had to go through 3 years of discomfort and kudos to you for your wisdom in persisting and insisting she get an accurate diagnosis. We are our own best advocates when it comes to our health.
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Reply to Geaton777
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I don't understand your question. But it appears your aunts issue was satisfactorily repaired now. Oftentimes we DO have to fight for good medical care, and advocate for doctors to listen to us.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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