1. Community
  2. Eyes
  3. Cataract

Updates after surgery

Posted , 5 users are following.

sozkumar
sozkumar

Hi All

I had received some valuable feedback from this forum before my surgery so I thought I should give updates after my surgery.

A brief background. I am 46 yr old with highy myopia. I had retinal detachment in left eye 5 years ago and it was in this eye that I had my cataract surgery. I have some cataract in the other eye as well but doctors mentioned that there is no need for surgery in the right eye for the time being.

I went for a simple monofocal IOL implant (J&J Sensar AR40E lens) aimed at seeing well in distance.

Surgery and Post-OP condition

I had my surgery two weeks back. It went without any complications. I was able to see the next day itself. There was some discomfort but not much pain. The eyes were continuously watering but this has reduced over the last two weeks. I am still waking up with sticky eye but it is more manageable.

In terms of vision, I am seeing well. The colours look bright and the image from the operated eye looks bigger than the non -operative eye. But I think the brain has adjusted well to this change and I dont feel much issue.

But there are two visual aberrations that I experience.

  1. A crescent of light (like halo) when there is a strong light source on the side (left) or top left (like when I am standing under a ceiling light). I can also see this phenomenon if I hold my mobile, screen up under the left eye around chin level.

    This crescent/halo also jitters or shakes a bit. The phenomena becomes more noticeable in the night as I pass under street lights.

  2. A streak of light across bright light sources. This becomes very noticeable and more irritating in the night as car headlights exhibit this phenomena, making it difficult to see the area in the vicinity of the headlights.

I had a one week followup with the doctor and they didnt seem concerned by these issues and told me that they will go away with time. I have to say, that I dont feel much convinced as they didnt really explained these issues much. However, they said that the light streak could be due to astigmatism introduced after the surgery. I will appreciate if anyone here can provide some information on these issues, in case they also experienced the same.

Overall, I am happy with the outcome. Yes there are issues as I listed above but I like the fact that I am able to see well.

3 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • jenniferPChi
    jenniferPChi sozkumar

    Posted

    I am a week post-op with Vivity and experiencing similar symptoms. Following

  • pershoot
    pershoot sozkumar

    Edited

    You are experiencing Positive Dysphotopsia. You have many more weeks to go; you will ultimately neuro-adapt / adjust in time. It can take quite a while.

    You may have a wrinkle / fold, as shrinkage / wrapping is occurring, attributing to the streaks (maddox rod effect like). This may sort itself out as this process occurs, in some months. The concentric semi-circle(s) / arc(s) of light emanating from the corner(s) is from the edge(s). This may get visually better as more fibrosis / wrapping occurs.

    Good luck! Try not to pay much mind to it and let things run their course. Please keep your ophthalmologist / surgeon abreast of your progress, for tracking.

  • RonAKA
    RonAKA sozkumar

    Posted

    Thanks for the update. I am sure it will be helpful to others in this situation. Your adverse effects are likely due to positive dysphotopsia. This is difficult for surgeons to deal with as they cannot see it, only you can. It can be caused by having a larger pupil and a IOL lens position in the eye that is a little further back from the pupil and what is ideal. The hope is that it will go away over time.

    .

    Not sure about the theory that astigmatism is causing a streak. I think I have seen that reported before, but do not understand how astigmatism could cause it. I have 0.75 D cylinder (astigmatism) in both eyes now and do not see anything like this. In one eye that is set for near vision I do see a drop shadow on letters, especially when they are white letters on a black background. In general astigmatism usually results in a slight loss in sharpness of vision, but it may allow you to see a little more in the close direction.

    .

    You will know more if you get an eyeglass refraction done at 5-6 weeks after your eye has fully healed from the surgery. That will tell you how significant the astigmatism is. It may be correctable with Lasik or PRK.

  • sozkumar
    sozkumar

    Edited

    Thanks everyone.

    It does look like a case of positive Dysphotopsia and I am hopeful that symptoms will improve over time.

    Regarding the light streak @RonAKA, could it be due to the fact the lens has sutured. Does anyone have any experience with this.

    • pershoot
      pershoot sozkumar

      Edited

      I also experience streaks / maddox rod effect (although this has lessened over time with starbursts becoming more pronounced, as it were). My lens is in a capsular bag. My docs stated the bag is clenched tight on the lens; I presume there are likely wrinkle(s) / fold(s) there attributing, in my case. You are only two weeks out. You have quite a bit of healing left to do. Observe while things further settle in the next coming weeks alongside your surgeon / opthalmologist.

    • RonAKA
      RonAKA sozkumar

      Edited

      This source indicates that up to two thirds of cataract surgery patients report PD effects after surgery. However by one year it drops to about 2%, and less than 1% need intervention. So, I would suggest giving it some time.

      .

      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9866410/pdf/life-13-00053.pdf

      .

      With respect to the streak, if it is a single streak rather than a starburst then it may be the maddox rod effect as suggested by @pershoot. I have no experience with it, but it appears most likely to be caused by a wrinkle in the capsular bag that holds the lens. The hope would be that the bag would shrink over time and the wrinkle goes away. However if it does not and the wrinkle is in the posterior of the bag it can be removed by cutting a hole in the bag with a YAG laser as is done with PCO. I would suggest getting an eye exam at 6 weeks and if it has not gone away ask about the possibility of a wrinkle being the source of the issue. Google this article.

      .

      Posterior capsular folds creating a Maddox rod effect following cataract surgery

      Maria L. Stunkel, MS4, Anna S. Kitzmann, MD (http://eyerounds.org/bio/authors/kitzmann-anna.htm)

      August 7, 2014

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.