Cataract Surgery (cont.)
What should one expect after the cataract surgery?
Following surgery, you will need to return for visits within the first few days and again within the first few weeks after surgery. During this time period, you will be using several eye drops which help protect against infection and inflammation. Within several days, most people notice that their vision is improving and that they are able to return to work. During the several office visits that follow, your doctor will monitor for complications, and once vision has stabilized, will fit you with glasses if needed. The type of intraocular lens you have implanted will determine to some extent the type of glasses required for optimal vision.
What are potential complications of cataract surgery?
While cataract surgery is one of the safest procedures available with a high rate of success, rare complications can arise. Your ophthalmologist will discuss the specific potential complications of the procedure that are unique to your eye prior to having you sign a consent form. The most common difficulties arising after surgery are persistent inflammation, changes in eye pressure, infection, or swelling of the retina at the back of the eye, and retinal detachment. If the delicate bag the lens sits in is injured, then the artificial lens may need to be placed in a different location. In some cases, the intraocular lens moves or does not function properly and may need to be repositioned, exchanged, or removed. All of these complications are extremely rare but can lead to significant visual loss; thus, close follow-up is required after surgery.
In some cases, within months to years after surgery, the thin lens capsule may become cloudy, and you may have the sensation that the cataract is returning because your vision is becoming blurry again. This process is termed posterior capsule opacification, or a "secondary cataract." To restore vision, a laser is used in the office to painlessly create a hole in the cloudy bag. This procedure takes only a few minutes in the office, and vision usually improves rapidly.
- Early symptoms of cataracts include blurred vision, glare, and difficulty reading.
- Cataracts will affect most people and become more prominent as we age.
- Cataracts can be diagnosed when the doctor examines the eyes with specialized viewing instruments.
- The decision to proceed with surgery is primarily based on the amount of difficulty you have performing your routine daily activities.
- Treatment for cataracts is surgical removal of the cataract with implantation of an artificial lens.
- There are a variety of intraocular lens types that can restore vision in different ways.
- Cataract surgery is a safe and effective way to restore vision with serious complications occurring in only 1 in 1,000 cases.
Last Editorial Review: 11/5/2007
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