# Cataract surgery failure **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348 "2010-02-02T05:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348/41 "2015-12-22T20:40:13Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > I just returned from my eye surgeon and have to undergo surgeries on both eyes again, but a simple procedure with a YAG laser because the capsules in which the lenses are emplaced have clouded over. Not the same thing but another complication. I do not know if the cataract surgery caused that. I had the exact same experience when I had my left eye done. I thought the eye was going to suck forever, but when I went to the doctor treating my retinopathy he said I just needed to see the opthamologist for a quick laser treatment. So I did, and after a five minute painless procedure I could see again. Woohoo! HisChildBeth; If you have someone living with you I would have them check on you while you’re sleeping. I began experiencing waking up with dry eyes after one of my eye procedures & asked the doc treating my retinopathy about it. He said that rare cases some people’s eyes will forget how to completely blink & pop open while sleeping after having their eyes operated. I have had to resort to the lubricating gel, eye drops, and taping my eye lids closed at night in order to fight this. I’ve been dealing with this for at least five years, so this might be a long-term problem. The dryness can & will damage your eyes (it has in my case), so I would suggest getting on top of this before your eyes become worse because of it. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348/42 "2015-12-23T00:01:57Z")
I had cataract surgery on one eye about 2 years ago. After the surgery my cornea had something called map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy. It took quite a bit of treatment with various eye drops but finally healed. I had shelled out for a super-duper variable focus artificial lens, but it doesn’t work for me as intended. I see many tiny concentric circles around bright lights, worse than the actual cataract. Also that eye now has an astigmatism that it didn’t have before. My surgery was done by a highly-rated specialty practice and there is no indication of their not doing the procedure properly. I was just that one in a thousand for whom it didn’t work out. ---
**Author:** ![Wizard\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Wizard\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wizard_One)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348/43 "2015-12-23T05:53:26Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > I had the cataract surgery 5 years ago. Did the surgery cause this occlusion, or was it caused by looking at the sun frequently playing tennis? It’s called posterior lens capsule opacification. It is caused by epithelial cells and fibers left over from the cataract clouded lens. Treatment consists of the use of a YAG laser, which removes part of the posterior lens capsule (the rear of the “sack” that previously held the lens), which is a short, painless procedure. [http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/781856](http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/781856) is a short article on the phenomenon. I currently have posterior lens capsule opacification and will be having the laser surgery performed when my new medical insurance kicks in. I have no clue why this common complication isn’t treated in advance by opening the posterior lens capsule during the cataract surgery, but the treatment is rather quick and painless. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348/44 "2015-12-23T11:20:05Z")
One of my former bosses had a fungal spore enter his eye during the procedure. Completely lost sight in that eye due to infection. Not a particularly good boss, but nobody deserves that! FWIW this is an incredibly rare complication. But it does happen. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348/45 "2015-12-23T11:26:55Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > :eek::eek::eek: > > They cut into your _eyeball_ without anesthesia?!? My Lasik was without anesthesia… weird as all get go but nothing hurt. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348/46 "2015-12-23T20:01:04Z")
> [@Wizard\_One](#): > > It’s called posterior lens capsule opacification. It is caused by epithelial cells and fibers left over from the cataract clouded lens. > Treatment consists of the use of a YAG laser, which removes part of the posterior lens capsule (the rear of the “sack” that previously held the lens), which is a short, painless procedure. > [http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/781856](http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/781856) is a short article on the phenomenon. > I currently have posterior lens capsule opacification and will be having the laser surgery performed when my new medical insurance kicks in. > I have no clue why this common complication isn’t treated in advance by opening the posterior lens capsule during the cataract surgery, but the treatment is rather quick and painless. Thanks for the info. My problem is that, although I will not be sedated, by law I need a ride home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataract-surgery-failure/527348.md?page=2)