Anyone have a prosthetic eye?

I have been blind in my left eye since I was two as the result of an accident. My eye was left discolored and disfigured from the injury and numerous surgeries that followed. My current eye doctor has been great and, since I was 13, has provided me with a handpainted colored contact to cover it - I'm now 28. The last few years, my eye has been giving me nothing but problems with infections, headaches, and has now become lazy. I am tired of living with the pain and am ready to have it removed. I have researched enucleation and have decided to move forward with it.

What I'm asking for is people's experiences with prosthetic eyes. Why do you have one? Have you had any problems with it? How long was your recovery time after the surgery? How much cost is involved for the surgery and the prosthetic eye? Tell me your story!

Dear LilDarlin,
I severely injured my left eye at age 9 and my parents elected to have my eye removed at that time. I am now 59. In fact, this September marks 50 years since my accident. My eye doctor was fresh out of residency and wanted to try a new implant, to which the muscles would be attached to enable my prosthesis to move like a normal eye. He did a beautiful job and my implant is intact and working wonderfully today, much to the amazement of the oculist I just saw in June. My body chemistry must be very "neutral" as I still have the same implant and have only had maybe 5 prostheses made in those 50 years. I am planning on having one made this fall because my oculist says 15 years is long enough to have the same prosthesis, even though she says mine is in great condition. The cost here in Wisconsin is currently $2000. (My first one was $125!) I don't over clean it with anything abrasive, but just use hard contact lens cleaner, which works great. I remove it and clean it about every 2 weeks, unless it feels "sticky," and then it's telling me to clean it sooner. When the prosthesis is out I also tilt my head back and fill the socket with saline solution (same stuff for contact lenses) as a "flush." Sometimes an eyelash gets behind the prosthesis or a small piece of dirt and you will want to do this as a cleansing measure also. I have had only a couple infections that I can recall that required me to go to the doctor. I always experience a little mucous but hardly ever anything major. I don't remember a whole lot about my surgery, but I know they didn't make the "final" prosthesis until I had healed, which took about 3 months back then. They put a temporary uncolored prosthesis in the socket during the healing and I had to wear an eye patch during that time. Not much fun for a 9 year old boy. I have been able to live a pretty normal life with it. Hope this helps with your decision. Feel free to contact me with any questions.