The story is that last Friday I had cataract surgery. It was my second one so I pretty much knew what to expect. The surgeon seemed to be struggling which he hadn’t the first time. Before they wheeled me away I asked him why and he said the cataract had disintegrated and he had had a lot of trouble getting it all out. Which, as it turned out, he hadn’t. On Saturday, all seemed well. Bandage came off and, while things were blurry, they were the first time. Sunday morning, though, the lower have of the visual field seemed not blurry but cloudy and by Monday morning the entire field was. I called the surgeon’s office and his assistant said to call on Tuesday because the surgeon does surgery MWF and sees patients TTS. Tuesday morning I was told to come right in and he looked and nodded. He finally explained that he had left one small piece in, hoping it would stay in place. He said he was reluctant to dig deeper for fear of damaging the eye. Well, it didn’t stay in place. It descended (but don’t forget images are reversed by the lens so as it was descending, it filled the lower half of the field first).
He said not worry. It might disintegrate and disappear by itself; if it didn’t he could go after it with a laser. But he would not do that for six months because laser treatment could damage the new lens. Ultimately, he could repeat the surgery. Meantime, I seem to be half-blind for maybe six months. I am supposed to drive to Ottawa (over 100 miles) in two weeks and to Boston (over 300 miles) in about four. Bummer! Fortunately the first eye is just about perfect.
Ouch! I’m sorry to hear that and hope it resolves itself. I work with someone who had a REALLY botched surgery, and is now legally blind. His computer monitor shows about 5 letters at a time. >.<
I’ve decided my glasses are fine, thanks! But I love the idea of not needing them.
The cataracts were in a place that made reading very hard, so I felt I had no choice. The first eye is now perfect, so I could live with that eye alone.
I think it may be improving, albeit slowly. Since I see better with enlarged pupils, I will ask the surgeon for a prescription for drops at least for driving.
You will certainly need glasses if you ever have cataract surgery. Cataract surgery replaces a clouded lens with a plastic one. I think you are confusing it with lasik laser corneal surgery, done to correct focus (and notoriously easily botched).
Hari, I think you will find that the laser treatment (which is not at all the same as lasik laser surgery - it does not involve cutting the cornea again) will probably remove the traces of cataract painlessly and easily. I had it after my cataracts were done. No problem at all.
They can put in a replacement lens that has correction in it. However, you may still need extra correction for reading, or if your vision worsens after that.
A natural lens changes its focus, through being stretched or squeezed by attached muscles, according to whether you are looking at close or distant objects. An artificial replacement lens is rigid* and cannot do that. If you are lucky, they may be able to give you a replacement lens that corrects any previous focus problems either for distance vision or for close work such as reading (although I know from personal experience that this does not always succeed), but it will not be able to focus at both distances, like a natural lens can. You will need glasses if you want to get proper focus at all distances in both eyes.
Cataract surgery is not a treatment for focus problems, as Taomist seemed to believe. Lasik laser surgery is a treatment for focus problems, but it leaves the natural lens intact and adjusts the cornea. If it works properly, you will not need glasses after it. However, it is not the same thing as the laser treatment that Hari is being offered to remove the remnants of his cataract (which, again, has nothing to do with focus).
*Fairly recently, flexible artificial lenses have become available, that can be attached to he relevant muscles, and that thus do change focus somewhat. However, it is my understanding that (a) they do not work well for many people, and (b) most insurance plans and healthcare programs will not pay for them.
