Have I been given wrong lens?
Posted , 5 users are following.
I had surgery on my right eye in April. Immediately after surgery, my eyesight in that eye was brilliant. On the follow-up appointment, I could read every line on the sight chart with that eye.
July 2nd, I had my left eye done. I am very disappointed in the result so far.
I am wondering if they have mistakenly put in a lens for near sight, rather than long sight, as was agreed. I did an experiment this morning and found that with my right eye covered, I can read print. I cannot do that with the right eye.
Can it take more time for the sight in this eye to improve, and should I be patient? It was a difficult operation with lots of discomfort as the cataract was very severe in that eye. Much, much worse than the right eye, which they did first. Even the surgeon commented after the op was over, that it was a difficult one to repair.
I have the card that they gave me with the details of the lens, but I don't understand it. I have mislaid my previous info card for the other eye, so can't compare the details.
I went for a very short test drive in my car yesterday and felt uncomfortable with my eyesight. If this is how my eyesight is going to be from now on, I have to consider getting rid of the car.
I am in the UK, so it was done by the NHS.
0 likes, 12 replies
RonAKA dog-man
Posted
It is always possible that the surgeon has missed on the power of the lens, or one reason or another. First with a very dense cataract it can be difficult to get a good eye length measurement, and that is the most critical measure that influences the outcome. The formula used may not have been correct for your eye, but the surgeon should have learned something from your first eye. The position of the lens in the eye is also critical. I presume the surgeon checked it after 24 hours to ensure it looked good at that time? The next normal step is to get an optometrist eye check at 3 weeks. Ask what the eyeglass lens power would be to correct the vision to good distance. That will give you a very good idea whether the surgeon missed on power.
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The other thing to keep in mind is that having slightly closer vision with one eye to the point of being able to read can be very desirable, and is called monovision. It may allow you to go eyeglasses free. If you have good distance vision in one eye, you can still drive. This said getting used to monovision, if that is what you ended up with can take a little time.
Lynda111 RonAKA
Posted
So, Ron, what can the cataract surgeon do if it is found he has missed on the power?
RonAKA Lynda111
Posted
There are three choices that I am aware of:
dog-man RonAKA
Posted
There has been no follow-up appointment and won't be, if at all, until after I see an optometrist in August.
Sadly, since having the cataract surgery in my right eye which was a fantastic success, with incredibly great vision. After noticing some issues, I have been told that I now have a Macular Hole in that right eye. As a result of this, it is now much more important that I have the best result possible with my left eye.
Sadly, the NHS is a slow beast and getting seen by someone can be a very long wait. Once you get to the point of treatment, the service is usually excellent.
RonAKA dog-man
Posted
Normal practice here is for the surgeon to do an eye exam 24 hours after surgery to see if there are any immediate issues. Then the surgeon or optometrist checks again at 3 weeks. Prescriptions for eyeglasses are not normally given until the eye has recovered 6 weeks. This is with our Canadian (provincial actually) public funded health care system.
Sue.An2 dog-man
Posted
If done on NHS these were standard mono focal IOLs. Great the 1st surgery went well. You may want to see your regular optometrist at 6 weeks to see where your vision is. It may be the power was miscalculated on the 2nd eye. If too much of s difference between the eyes will the NHS do a lens exchange? it may be this dan be corrected with glasses which is why seeing an optometrist would be beneficial.
RonAKA dog-man
Edited
Did the surgeon discuss how much residual astigmatism that you may have? If you have significant residual astigmatism in that eye, and you didn't get a toric lens, that may be another reason for your vision to be not as good as the first eye.
dog-man RonAKA
Posted
There was never any mention of astigmatism.
RonAKA dog-man
Posted
When you get your optometrist eye check, you should ask to see what the residual astigmatism is as well as the sphere.
dog-man
Posted
One other thing I have noticed is that I get lots of fluttering in my left eye on the left side of peripheral vision whenever there is a light source coming from the left. It's very annoying.
Beth-R dog-man
Posted
I had my cataract surgeries in December, 2021 and February, 2022. I am in the U.S. and paid a lot for trifocal lenses. I am pleased with the result. However, I noticed a very slight difference in the right eye (which had the worst vision of the two) and my optometrist prescribed new glasses, even though it wasn't absolutely necessary to drive and function. I use them mostly for distance. I was told to wait 4-6 months before getting new glasses. Hopefully, your issue can be corrected with a new eyeglass prescription.
Even on my routine surgery, my doctor said there is a lot of atrophy to the eye during and after surgery until it fully heals and your brain adjusts to the changes in vision. If your surgery was difficult due to the condition of the eye, it could take longer for your eye to heal. Two weeks isn't a very long time. My eyes took months to fully adjust.
I don't understand why the hole in the macula wasn't taken care of during or immediately after the cataract surgery. Maybe the doctor has to get approval in the UK for additional work? With the macular hole, I don't know if I would want to risk a second surgery to get a new lens, it is risky because when they put the lens in the eye it is folded and then unfolds after being implanted. Taking it can be tricky. I'm sure you don't want to risk losing your eyesight if it damages the macula even more. In fact, the hole in the macula might be the issue, rather than the possibility of an incorrect lens. Here in the US I have seen my surgeon three times since the surgery (1 day, 1 week and 1 month after surgery). I have also seen a Retinologist for a different issue and I recently saw my Optometrist who did a thorough exam. Medicare and supplemental insurance paid for most of it (I had a deductible I had to meet).
You might want to be patient and wait to see what happens after the macular hole is repaired. After 8 weeks, you could get a new prescription for your glasses while waiting for the surgery on the macula. I wish you good luck with your eyes.
dog-man
Posted
The Macular Hole is in the better eye, not the one with poorer vision than it was before the cataract. The eye was always slightly weaker than my other eye, but not as bad as it is currently. There is a big difference.
I have not been able to wear any type of glasses since an operation to remove an Acoustic Neuroma in 1992.
My balance is not as good as it should be since then, so I am unstable when wearing any type of glasses, including sunglasses, and there is a risk of falling / tripping. I can only wear them when standing still or sitting down.