Cataract op on right eye.very short sighted

It was discussed  and I was told I would see distance .my op was three and half weeks ago .had appointment with surgeon last week and he said correct lense used  he is going to check his measurements and I go to see him again end of January. I feel he made a mistake as I can only see clearly at close up .

wondering if I should get second opinion (but will cost a lot of money )

 

The surgeon should have checked your eye prescription and the best corrected vision at your last check-up. That would have been 2-3 weeks after surgery and he should given you a good eye examination and given you that information. You should not have to guess the reason for your poor eye sight. You should have been provided that information. If the doctor did the test and did not provide you the desired information, you should ask his/her office to provide you that.

Surgeon said This can happen and I was one of the 1.1/2 percent of people it happens to.

I cannot see Tv  and can read for short while .going to see my optician tomorrow and hope he can fit me up with varifocals .

my worry is my left eye needs cataract op. I am so afraid this will happen again .just wish somebody could explain the reasons and give me back some confidence.

Yes I believe he is trying to say I am one of the 1 1/2 percent . We could not get a proper answer as to the reason why it had happened this I found very worrying.

All of my friends have had cataracts  and all of them have come away without glasses for distance or close up .

I am doing research  ,to try and find another surgeon who will be willing to give me a second opinion.thanks for your reply 

Hi Carol - so sorry - I feel your frustration and it doesn’t appear from your comments the surgeon can do much.  If you are contemplating a lens exchange seek out another specialist.  From what I have read this takes someone noted skilled than a cataract surgeon.  

You mentioned having had laser for correction 20 years ago.  From what I read that makes it harder to calculate the lens power needed.

If you can find postings from Nina on these forums she had had prior lasik surgery and mentioned her surgeon only recommended regular monofocal lenses.  She included several links in her posts about that.  You might find her posts a good read.

I gather you would prefer to see distance vs near?   Everyone’s preference is different.  Some prefer to wear glasses for near and others enjoy having near vision and wearing glasses for distance.  If you discussed having distance with your surgeon it is hard to understand why you got the opposite.  Have you been to an optometrist to get a prescription?   You also mentioned having a toric lens inserted was this a toric monofocal or toric Symfony Lens?  Is there any possibility that the lens rotated and is causing some of the issues?  You should definitely have a discussion on all these with your surgeon to see what he or she says.  You may want to get another specialist’s input too if not satisfied.   

No my surgeon didn't only recommend monofocals. I'm the one who insisted on it. He would have given me any IOLs I wanted.

I didn't want to do it though since there was no guarantee of having good reading vision or good night vision and they would have cost me $5,400. I got non-toric monofocals set for distance paid for by my insurance company and now hardly ever need to wear glasses except for extended reading or the tiniest of print. My doctor would have been perfectly happy to take my $5,400.

Thanks Nina.  Nice to hear you are doing well.  Hard to make decisions when doctors have their best interests in mind and not the patients.  I am sure there are still good ones out there but maybe hard to find.

Maybe my memory was wrong.  Did you post links about prior lasik being harder to calculate lens power?  I had thought so but maybe I am wrong.

I think it used to be harder to calculate, but now they have special formulas to calculate the power after lasik and other types of surgery to correct vision. Even people who didn't have lasik or other vision correction surgery can end up with their IOL power being off target after cataract surgery, so maybe the risk of that happening is slightly higher in someone after having vision correction surgery like lasik. I'm not sure.

Did you have lasik or did you have radial keratotomy?

Makes sense.  With so many more people having lasik surgery there is I’ll be research and development going into the technology to calculate lens power and also premium lenses.  Most people who have lasik are patients who will be more demanding when it comes to cataract surgery and likely more willing to pay for that.

Not sure why anyone would need premium lenses after lasik or even not after it, so I'm not sure what more research on lenses will bring other than money in doctor's pockets (I clearly am not in agreement with everyone else on this forum about that).

I basically never need to wear glasses now after getting non-toric monofocals set for distance. I can see well enough to read labels, etc. and don't need glasses unless doing extended reading or for teeny tiny print. Most people get Lasik to fix distance vision, not reading vision. As a matter of fact, many people end up needing reading glasses after they have lasik when they were nearsighted before the lasik and probably would never need reading glasses in their entire lives, even after they reach the "normal" age for needing reading glasses (this happened to me after lasik and now I need reading glasses after cataract surgery less often than I needed them after having lasik).

I also think the formulas they have now must work fine since my doctor used one of those formulas and my vision turned out fine. Since I found studies showing my outcome isn't unusual (in people who didn't have lasik or other vision correction surgery), I also know for a fact now that it's not unusual. And for anyone reading this who's considering lasik, I suggest not having it done since I believe it caused my cataracts or at least caused them to occur earlier than normal (aside from other terrible things it could possibly cause).

Not basing this on anything scientific.   Just observation from conversations I have had with neighbors and work colleagues.  Didn’t realize how many people opt for lasik.  And are very positive about it.  I’ve always been squeamish about eyes so never considered anything but glasses and contacts.  And yes they did get lasik for distance I realize - they are too young  to need readers.  However this generation of people when they hit the age where cataract surgery is necessary (and likely before as doctors seem to be pushing for clear lens exchange) will be more picky than today’s generation of cataract patients and wanting to see well at all distances. Hence I do predict the premium lens market will grow and research dollars will be pouring into making them better.  Just my opinion.  Having gone through this it’s likely something that will catch my interest.   

Today’s options - I am not convinced there is only one solution.  There are a few that would bring a satisfactory result.   

Everyone I know who had non-toric monofocals set for distance are perfectly happy with them and also rarely need to wear glasses the same as me unless their power turned out off target ("refractive surprise". I also know younger people who had Lasik who ended up needing reading glasses way before the normal time to need them.

And if they want to spend thousands of dollars to MAYBE avoid wearing glasses once in  while, so be it. Aside from the cost, there are problems that can occur with premium lenses whether or not you had LASIK or other refractive surgery and I personally wouldn't trust any lenses they come up with in the future.

And I wouldn't trust any lenses they come up with in the future even if I had not had LASIK.

Also people shouldn't just not have LASIK, they should also avoid PRK, Relex Smile, refractive lens exchange/clear lens exchange (removing the eye's clear healthy lens to replace it with an artificial lens like in cataract surgery just to avoid wearing glasses), implantable contact lenses (ICLs) that can cause cataracts and all kinds of other problems, etc. They all have serious risks involved and doctors downplay the risks.

Toric lenses can rotate in the eye. In my opinion, no one should get toric lenses, especially someone who had previous surgery to correct their vision. Just wear glasses to correct any astigmatism after cataract surgery.

And also in my opinion, any premium IOLs they come up with in the future will just be a money-making gimmick, the same as the ones they have today to prey on people's obsessive desire to never have to wear glasses ever for anything, not even to read minuscule print that even young children with perfect vision wouldn't be able to read.

The same way they prey on people's obsessive desire to not have to wear distance glasses by pushing LASIK, LASEK, PRK, Relex Smile, refractive lens exchange, clear lens exchange, implantable contact lenses (and radial keratotomy that they stopped doing that ruined many people's eyesight for life) and whatever other money-making gimmick they'll come up with in the future for that purpose without disclosing all the actual risks involved.

I feel the same way about premium IOLs as I feel about all the surgeries they do. That's why I rarely post on this forum anymore.

I am not sure that I agree with your advice staying away from toric lenses just because those may rotate. Those can be easily rotated back into place, if they rotate after installation (that usually happens within the first 2 weeks after the cataract surgery. It is a simple procedure. Having to wear glasses for all distances just because of astigmatism will be a poor choice.

Busy afternoon at work just reading posts now.

It’s fine for people to have different viewpoints.  People will value different preferences.  I am not sure I agree it’s an obsessive desire to be glasses free.  There are valid reasons why someone would prefer that.  A good opthamologist and surgeon should never make that promise with a premium lens.  The Symfony lens was never positioned that way to me. Surgeon said it provides a greater range of vision than a monofocal lens and lessens dependence on glasses.  For me it has been a good choice - I have no regrets.  

As long as the surgeons aren’t pushing these out of greed or not taking time to fully explain the compromises I think patients would appreciate learning about the options available to them.

Maybe obsessive isn't the right word. I guess never ending is a better way to put it. Again, this is my opinion. The only one's eyes I really care about are my own.

And ditto to at201 re: toric IOLs. It's just my opinion and I don't really care what other people do as long as my eyes are alright. I do think people should know what they're doing though before they do it, since I see many people with serious eye problems after the fact.

And a good number of those people don't even know what they had done to their eyes, including what kind of IOL they have (this happens a lot with people who get refractive lens exchange I noticed - I ask what kind of IOL they have and get no response).

That’s OK.   Everyone has different perspectives and values.   No one shoe fits all.

Yeah well when I post possible complications on here, I'm trying to save someone's eyes, but most of the time it's ignored. Too bad if that person winds up with serious complications that can't be fixed. Can't say I didn't try though.