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both eyes or one?

Posted , 3 users are following.

vic64836
vic64836

I have cataracts in both eyes but only one eye is bothering me right now. Is it true that if you have surgery on only one eye, the other eye deteriorates quickly so you might as well get both done close in time?

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • at201
    at201 vic64836

    Posted

    A short answer: the cataract surgery on one eye does not affect the other eye. In my case, there was 18 years difference between the two cataract surgeries.
    • at201
      at201

      Posted

      The other factor to consider is the potential difference in the vision of the two eyes after the surgery in the first eye.

      I was used to monovision (using contact lenses) before the cataract surgery in the left eye. The 2 eyes were still within about 2D of each other after the surgery.So, I did not have an issue due to difference in the prescriptions of the 2 eyes.

      If you think that there will be more of a difference between your eyes, then you may want to slightly adjust your target vision for the first eye. If you can share more information about the good eye vision, we may be able to offer some more suggestions.

  • michael74313
    michael74313 vic64836

    Posted

    Cataracts are protein deposits on the lens so I can't see how doing one eye will cause the other eye to develop a cataract any faster.  On the other hand, many might choose to do the other eye for other reasons.  Depending on how the IOL is set in the eye that is done (distance, mid-range or near), it could cause both eyes to be way out of whack and a lot of people can't tolerate monovision.  But there are other solutions in the meantime such as contacts or glasses but still a lot depends on how far out of whack the eyes are;  they might not be out of whack at all in which case a person might prefer to wait.  Another reason to wait is technology will continue to improve the multifocal lens IOLs.  But, there's no way to know how long that could be since it could be several years.  So, a lot depends on how bad the cataract is in the other eye.

  • Night-Hawk
    Night-Hawk vic64836

    Posted

    I have heard after one eye is corrected to good vision after cataract surgery, if the other eye still needs a significant correction though it doesn't have a mature enough cataract, that insurance or medicare can still cover the other eye if there is enough of an "imbalance" between the eyes.

    How much of a prescription difference between the eyes is enough to be considered a sufficient "imbalance" for insurance to cover an eye with only a very early stage cataract?

    For example, would 2D of cylinder astigmatism be enough?

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