Blocked vision after cataract surgery

I reckon a lawyer would  be the next step or before that any independent medical revieew organisation or medical ombudsman which may exist where you live.  A second opinion from another specialist in the field would be good if you can get it, but doctors are notoriously unwilling to make any criticism of each other's treatment of patients.

That's a totally dreadful result from what is after all, minor surgery these days.  Is this doctor an experienced opthalmoloigst or what?     It would be good if you could somehow contact other patients who've had the same surgery with him but be careful about naming him publicly or you may be in legal trouble.

I'm so sorry this has happened to your husband: it's not fair and I hope you can get something done about it:  so good luck.

 

I'm certainly no doctor, but WOW, that sure sounds a lot like a detached retina to me. If so, need to get that taken care of immediately!! The typical treatment at a medical facility is for an opthamolgist to get the flap back on to the rear of the eyeball (via head movements) and then insert an inert gas into the eye to hold the retina in place until it reattaches. The gas slowly goes away over a period of weeks. You can do a Google search for details.

I'm AMAZED that your eye doctor didn't immediately treat this problem. I'd go to a different opthalmologist right away if he doesn't treat it immediately. In fact, I'd consider this an emergency and go to a hospital.

Unfortunately I'm posting late and you may already have had the next appointment. Some doctors are very poor at communicating, especially since many patients are stressed during appointments and naturally have trouble thinking clearly and making sure their questions are all answered. Some people have difficulty critiquing doctors and putting them on the spot when they don't communicate well enough. If you hadn't yet had the next appointment, the first step is to stress that you are thinking about seeing another doctor because of the issues.  Stress that he    needs to explain very clearly what the problem is and why he thinks it is happening and why he seems to be ignoring it, and make sure to write down all the details and technical terms (you don't post enough details for others to make a good guess as to what the problem is). It may be there is some eye condition that takes time to heal which is causing this, but that he didn't communicate this well. Or perhaps it is some other eye health issue that has nothing to do with the surgery, but he merely wasn't able to notice while he had the cataract.

A 2nd opinion may likely be the next step regardless of how he answers, to either confirm that his answer makes sense, or if the first doc didn't answer well, then to get the 2nd doctor to give you his diagnosis and recommended treatment. It is premature to talk about lawyers and review panels until you find a  doctor who can  confirm what is going on and determine the likely cause, to be sure whether or not the first doctor did make mistakes. Even with a very common and safe surgery, a tiny minority of patients have trouble through no fault of the surgeon.. but of course some surgeons do make mistakes so its possible.

I'm merely another post-cataract patient who has done some research, so I don't really know what might be causing the odd symptoms. I can make some guesses at possibilities, perhaps  the "blanked out line that cuts off sight" sounds like it may be the edge of the lens, that perhaps the lens is dislocated. However I'm not sure what laser treatment they would have tried for that, nor why they'd ignore  continued issues. 

Alternatively black lines are also one of the ways what is called a "negative dysphotopsia" is described, which is a problem some people with IOLs experience which isn't a fault of the surgeon, which some people adapt to over time and tune out the issue, but others need treatment for (often a piggyback lens or an exchange to a different kind of lens). It may be he is waiting to see if adaptation occurs, but in this case I'm unsure what sort of laser issue would have been used to try to treat it.

I'm also wondering if it might be PCO (posterior capsular opacification), which is a common issue that a laser treatment (as you said he received)  a YAG, is used to address after surgery. It is due to cells growing over part of the IOL and clouding it, which isn't usually due to any error on the part of the surgeon, but it would seem if the YAG still left part of the lens clouded that would suggest they didn't clear them all and another YAG treatment would be in order rather than ignoring it. Its likely some other possiblity I haven't considered.

 

I have had a problem after cataract surgery, over a year ago. Even before I was told what I have I had it figured from good websites. My suggestion is to be firm and clear, with written down questions. Be persistent. All experts, including medical ones, believe that they have the best suggestion and they know best. However, there are other experts who have other opinions. In your case I would persist now, so your Doctor takes responsibility. If no luck then ask for a second opinion. To start talking about legal implications will not solve the problem?