YAG Laser Capsulotomy risk
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Hi l had cataract surgery a year ago with vivity lens and was a success. my main aim from the surgery was to have excellent distance vision and not need glasses , which l now have .l have 20/20 distance vision and only need glasses for close up reading, My surgeon says l have PCO forming in Both eyes and will need YAG Laser Capsulotomy within a year , l was speaking to my optopmerist and he said something that worried me, he said in about 20% of people who have YAG Laser Capsulotomy the laser hits the lens implant and slighly moves it which changes the power of the lens . My fear is when l have the YAG Laser Capsulotomy the laser might move my lens implant and l might go from not needing glasses for distance to needing to wear glasses for distance. What are the odds of risk of that happening
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Guest john20510
Edited
I have read a LOT about YAG capsulotomy and I have never heard that. Ever. Maybe it's a complication if done very soon after surgery (weeks) before the lens has stabilized but I'm just guessing. Again I have never heard this. The complications and side effects you mostly hear about are floaters (which usually go away), increased eye pressure (which also goes away and can be treated with drops), IOL pitting which can cause night vision issues if the pitting is in the visual axis (which can be minimized or avoided with careful focusing with an Abraham lens, using a posterior offset and minimal laser energy or just by using a can opener pattern instead of a cross pattern), CME (again temporary and treatable with drops), and very rarely (1 in 100) retinal detachment.
trilemma john20510
Posted
Were that true, I would expect we could find some reference to that effect.
RonAKA john20510
Edited
Never heard of it. The most often risk stated is a 0.5% risk of retinal detachment.
karin08666 john20510
Edited
I did a lot of reading on the subject before I had YAG done on both eyes. The studies I read indicated the lens could shift once the YAG creates a hole in the capsule, but there was no significant change in the refraction. A couple studies I read said there could be a backwards movement of the lens, but it was not significant in the refraction. They also said backwards movement was associated more with a bigger capsulotomy. I can't remember how long after the patients had cataract surgery these studies were done, and if that made a difference. I found a few studies on this subject and found the information interesting. I found it worth searching and reading up on because I had the same worry, that it would change my vision.