YAG LASER DO l need it
Posted , 10 users are following.
Hi l had cataract surgery a year ago with Vivity Lens and it was a big success after a few months to adjust l am very happy with my vision, Great distance , intermediate and can read most of the time without glasses, as far as l know its 20/20 vision or close to that, perhaps in low light the contrast could be a bit better but l pity much dont notice that anymore. My eye doctor who did the surgery said l am starting to get some PCO forming and l should have YAG laser in both eyes in a few months. l told him my vision seems great and l am happy with my vision but he sAID l should still have the YAG laser and l will notice an improvement in my vision after. Even though YAG laser is very safe and his experienced done thousands l am thinking why take any risk at all if l am happy with my vision. My question is should l follow his advice and have the YAG laser in a few months or should l wait until l actually notice the PCO affecting my vision and then have the YAG laser, if l wait until the PCO gets worse would the YAG laser procedure be more difficult or risky ? is it possible if l wait my PCO may not progress and l might never even need to have the YAG laser
0 likes, 15 replies
adam06539 john20510
Edited
As long as you're happy with your vision, don't do it. Simple as that.
Trix317 adam06539
Posted
What Adam said ^^^
I think it's a money grab IMHO. My doctor couldn't wait to do YAG on me less than 3 months after my cataract surgery when I told him I had blurry vision. It did nothing to improve my vision except maybe lift a film off of my eye. It actually made my eye totally inflamed and I am still suffering the effects. I know everyone's experience is different. I am just sharing mine. I am in the USA.
RonAKA john20510
Edited
I am in the same situation, but with one eye only. Surprisingly this eye is at about 18 months and the other eye is around 3 years but is said to be fine. I am going for a second opinion next week, and may know a little more after that. One source that I consulted suggested waiting until vision is impacted to a noticeable degree. I am not aware of any issues with delaying it until the impact becomes visible. At times I think I do see something, but for sure it is minor compared to the PVD I have in both eyes.
john20510
Edited
l think it costs $1000 here in Australia for both eyes but l get half that back from medicare. l wonder if money might be a reason why eye doctors want people who are happy with their vision to have the laser . For example 100 patients a year YAG laser thats $100,000 ALso reading here about some people who have had some negative side effects like light flashed and floaters l am thinking why take any risk when l am happy with my vision unless theres some good reason why l should have it now such as if waiting makes the procedure more risky. rON AKA can you let me know next week what your second doctor for the second opinion says as you are in the same situation as me, perhaps PM me or comment here thanks
adam06539 john20510
Posted
One thing you must be aware of is sometimes you "don't know" what you can't see. So do it once your measured visual acuity is poor.
soks john20510
Edited
the downside of waiting is that the capsule fragments that will float in the vitreous after the YAG will be more opaque than when if the YAG was done when they were still transparent. also since the change is vision is very gradual measured visual acuity like adam susggests and picture sharpness should be good measure.
john20510 soks
Posted
Do you mean if l wait longer until the PCO is worse before having YAG l am more likely to get floaters or more noticable floaters
soks john20510
Posted
yes. there was also a wong video on it. he was calling it plaque.
trilemma john20510
Posted
I think some doctors are eager to increase billings. ABC stands for always be closing.
I am not saying that is the case here.
RonAKA trilemma
Posted
I believe there are some statistics that support this when it comes to YAG to correct PCO. The need for YAG stats are all over the map, from everyone will eventually need it, to 50% typically get it, to 20% that really need it.
jo61855 john20510
Posted
I had a 4 month post-op (Vivity IOLs) appointment today. Asked about any problems, I mentioned my left eye early morning symptoms as described in my last post. The ophthalmologist/surgeon said there is some scarring and that a laser can fix it. That sounds like PICO and YAG. I asked if it will get worse. She answered yes. My vision is 20/20 in that eye and 20/25 in the other eye. She could tell I didn't want the laser treatment now and replied, "I know you believe less is more." So an annual exam appointment was set for Oct. 2024.
ingrid74234 john20510
Edited
hi John, I am having Vivity done next week and happy to see you are good with results. The company in Canada that will be doing the surgery has offered me "insurance" for any possible Laser correction that I might need. i was debating whether i should take this insurance. The insurance is 250$ canadian per eye whereas Laser correction would be between 1500 and 2000$ or more -
that said they said few people need laser - about 5% or less
phil09 ingrid74234
Edited
Who decides whether you "need" correction? You or them? Or some stated objective criterion?
RonAKA ingrid74234
Edited
One thing to keep in mind is that there are limits to what a laser (Lasik) can do. I have found through experience that small corrections particularly in the more myopic direction are unreliable. As an example if your target is plano or 0.00 D and you end up far sighted at +0.50 D, that may be an error they cannot reliably correct back to 0.00 D.
.
You may want to have the discussion about how much they can correct and to what accuracy before you pay the "insurance" fee.
Bookwoman ingrid74234
Edited
This kind of 'insurance' sounds like an extended warranty on an appliance: almost never worth the price.