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IC-8 lens surgery, blurry vision

Posted , 9 users are following.

seth1979
seth1979

I recently had RLE (Refractive Lens Exchange) in my right eye. It has been 4 days since my surgery and my vision has gotten worse. Everything is hazy or blurry...Almost like you are looking through steam". Night vision is horrible as well. Any and all lights ( street lights, brake lights, headlights) I can see the "main" light, but there is a rectangle shape of light around it too. Street signs when I am driving at night, and at a distance, I see the "main" sign and then 3 or 4 of that same sign, around the main sign...and as I get closer to the sign while driving, the "extra" signs slowly converge back into the main sign. This is so strange to me and doesn't seem right. I take my medicated drops like "clock work" and use additional drops to keep my eye lubricated... Anyone have similar story?

Note my surgery wasn't due to Cataract at all, but was the same exact surgery.

0 likes, 18 replies

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  • Guest
    Guest seth1979

    Edited

    Sorry to hear about that. I read about someone with similar symptoms once and it ended up being corneal edema… something to ask your surgeon about maybe at your next followup?

  • Rsko
    Rsko seth1979

    Edited

    I'm the furthest thing from an expert but if your vision is cloudy perhaps you have PCO (sometimes referred to as secondary contacts) and all you need is a simple YAG procedure.

    • Guest
      Guest Rsko

      Posted

      I don't think PCO would cause diplopia and even if it did, that would be very unlikely 3 days after surgery. PCO typically takes awhile to develop to the point where you would have any symptoms. It sounds more like corneal oedema to me, which is a rare complication but is known to cause diplopia. Another simple cause of diplopia is astigmatism but I think it would just be a single ghost image in that case, not multiples.

  • RonAKA
    RonAKA seth1979

    Edited

    I am aware of the IC-8 lens, but have not seen much posted here about experience with the lens. It is pretty simple though with just a small hole giving the pinhole camera effect to reduce refractive error. You are likely just suffering from the trauma of cataract surgery without having cataracts. In my opinion I do not believe it is ethical to use IOLs to correct refractive error unless there is a cataract in the lens. While laser refractive surgery is not the best thing to do to your eyes, it is better than doing a RLE. While the IC-8 is normally only used in one eye, I would hope you reconsider any thoughts of doing another RLE with any IOL in the other eye unless there are very extenuating circumstances that would not allow laser surgery instead.

    • seth1979
      seth1979 RonAKA

      Posted

      unfortunately, lasik wasnt a good option, as my vision would revert back to what it was if I took the lasik route, within a year or so... My natural lens has "hardend" which wouldn't allow it to focus. And my prescription for glasses lasted less than a year and my vision had deteriorated so fast. So RLE, was literally my only option to correct my vision... I work in the nuclear industry and having good vision for my job is very much needed.

    • RonAKA
      RonAKA seth1979

      Edited

      It sounds like you must be hyperopic and need a steeper cornea rather than a flatter one. Lasik and PRK do not work so well in doing that, and as you say the change may not hold.

      .

      "natural lens has "hardened"" - Presbyopia affects pretty much everyone one you hit a certain age. The normal fix chosen is bifocal or progressive glasses up until the time cataract surgery is needed.

    • Guest
      Guest seth1979

      Edited

      It's irrelevant now but what you are describing is just presbyopia, which happens to everyone over the age of 40… eventually. If you also have cataracts then cataract surgery makes sense. But cataract surgery / lens exchange still doesn't really fix presbyopia. The best we can do currently is to mimic accommodation with tricks like monovision, diffractive multifocals, or a pinhole lens like the IC-8. None of these methods actually restore your ability to literally change focus from near to far, but functionally speaking, they are a good enough approximation for some people. Most people just opt for reading glasses, bifocals, or progressives… but I get that glasses can be annoying especially if you've never worn them.

    • trilemma
      trilemma RonAKA

      Edited

      In my opinion I do not believe it is ethical to use IOLs to correct refractive error unless there is a cataract in the lens.

      I disagree. A major example would be for an airline pilot, who must have sufficient acuity when not wearing glasses. But that is only the most compelling case that I can think of.

    • RonAKA
      RonAKA trilemma

      Edited

      The issue is that the risk of an IOL implant are not negligible. When the alternative is going blind, it is easy to take that risk. For most if the alternative is simply wearing glasses, taking that risk is not such a slam dunk.

    • seth1979
      seth1979 trilemma

      Posted

      I am a nuclear power plant operator...I work in a control room with hundreds of switches, alarm panels, instrumentation, and we have procedures for absolutely everything, so I need to have my vision...lol... not quite as significant as being a pilot, but I believe it's "up there"

  • trilemma
    trilemma seth1979

    Edited

    I recently had RLE (Refractive Lens Exchange) in my right eye. It has been 4 days since my surgery and my vision has gotten worse.

    Worse than before the surgery, or only worse than the day after the surgery?

    What lens was implanted?

    • seth1979
      seth1979 trilemma

      Posted

      IC-8 lens... worse than before... intermediate and distance has worsened...

    • Guest
      Guest seth1979

      Edited

      Rest assured it is still early days. There is a very good chance at this point that the issues you are having are just the result of some swelling / healing process in the cornea and the eye as a whole. If you are still having issues after 6-8 weeks then you might seek a second opinion or even a more serious intervention like an exchange but… cross that bridge when you come to it. You are not there yet. And it goes without saying but don't do anything with your left eye yet until you resolve the issues with your right eye.

      .

      p.s. I see you mention taking extra drops in addition to your prescribed drops. Using over the counter drops is a good idea but given that you are also on 2-3 other drops right now (that all have preservatives in them) I STRONGLY suggest that your extra drops should be preservative free. I am a big fan of the Systain Complete PF drops.

    • trilemma
      trilemma seth1979

      Edited

      IC-8 lens... worse than before... intermediate and distance has worsened...

      I think that you are saying that it is worse than before surgery, and not that it is worse than the day after surgery.

      Could it be that your new lens is focused too close? At what distance do you get your sharpest vision with the eye in question?

    • seth1979
      seth1979 trilemma

      Posted

      Up close, reading is best right now...mid range and distance cause the most blurriness.... I went in this afternoon and they said everything looked good, slight astigmatism, which could be causing these issues, but could go away as the eye heals more. And if it persists, they have the ability to correct it with lasik.... fingers crossed!

    • trilemma
      trilemma seth1979

      Posted

      1. At what distance is vision best, in inches or cm?
      2. Is vision really good at that distance?
      3. What distance was the doctor supposed to be optimizing for?
    • seth1979
      seth1979 trilemma

      Posted

      i think between 12-18 inches...

      vision is better at that range...not great...but the best compared to anyother range.

      my lens is a multifocal lens...so near, intermediate and distance.

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