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A question about PRK Vs. Yag - following cataract surgery

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melodyNYC
melodyNYC

So, I had cataract surgery about five weeks ago on my left eye, where they implanted a PanOptix lens. I chose PanOptix because I wanted to be able to see close, medium and far. (Prior to surgery, I was extremely far sighted - with contact lens of +6.0 in my left eye and +5.5 in my right eye). After the surgery was over, I could read and use my computer - but anything beyond 5 feet was blurry. During a followup appointment about 2 weeks ago, my doctor said he thought the problem with the distance vision was related to clouding of the membrane/capsule - and suggested YAG surgery to correct it. But I'm really concerned about this "fix" - because if it doesn't work, I'm stuck because you can never swap out the lens for a different lens if you've had YAG surgery.

So, I went to a different doctor for a second opinion. This doctor was able to check the refraction and managed to identify the residual astigmatism precisely, where I was able to see 20/20 through the machine. He recommended I have PRK lasik to adjust the refraction on my cornea (NOT the capsule) to correct the astigmatism. He said this is different from YAG , which my original surgeon was recommending. ( My original doctor doesn't seem to have very good optical equipment as the technician had to re-do my eye about 20 times on the same machine to get a measurement prior to my surgery - so I think the measurements were off. This second opinion doctor was able to get the measurement on the first try).

I asked this second doctor if swapping out the lens for a different refraction point would work as well. He said it would - but he said it would be easier to just do the lasik. He said to ask my doctor for a contact lens OS of residual astigmatism to simulate what I would see following a PRK. And he wrote a letter outlining his finding and recommendation for me to give to my first doctor - when I see him on Monday.

Here's my question: I know with YAG, you can never swap out lens again. But if I have PRK lasik - and it doesn't work - can I still swap out the lens for another? or am I stuck at that point? Is anyone familiar with PRK lasik?

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  • melodyNYC
    melodyNYC

    Posted

    Thank you for all of your suggestions!

    I will try each and every one.

    Thank you!

    • RonAKA
      RonAKA melodyNYC

      Edited

      I thought a bit longer about my detailed response. It is too late to edit it now. But, one thing to consider is that your current -1.0 D cylinder astigmatism is likely helping you to read beyond what has been designed into the PanOptix. If you correct astigmatism down to zero with Lasik or PRK you will lose some of the extra reading power. But the quality will still improve. When you get "reading ability" from astigmatism it tends to be fuzzy or even double vision. This said a toric contact like the Acuvue Oasys should give you an accurate preview of what the outcome will be with Lasik or PRK astigmatism correction.

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