Cataract Surgery Recovery Unwrapped

It shocking news when you are told after a routine eye exam that you have cataracts. I was only 51 at the time ad thought cataracts were what old people got. I had no idea. I soon learned what it was all about.

I've had poor eyesight since birth so I was shocked when at a routine eye exam that I had trouble seeing the big E on the chart with my left eye, yet when I was given a perforated eye-piece to look through I could see as normal ( for me anyways) and that clinched it. The lens of my left eye was developing crystals or inclusions that were scattering the light instead of focusing the light on to my retina. The perforated lens allowed me to see as normal through a part of the lens that wasn't affected yet. New technology advances allow early diagnosis and what once was a major surgery is not handled in house with a fifteen minute surgery.

Follow through while I show you what to expect, show you what happened to me and maybe give you some questions to ask your eye doctor.

Photo Credit All other photos in this lens a CC images. Just click on them to see the original.

- what are my options

The stereotypical perception of a cataract is the milky white lens but that is not the only type. Mine was not noticeable from looking at the eye itself unless you looked under magnification. The cataracts were scattering the light and making it impossible for me to focus.

Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it is not there. The shocking proof was handed to me when I couldn't see the big 'E' on the chart with my left eye ( right eye covered) yet when I was given a perforated disk to look through I could see normally through some and not very well through others. I was surprised.

So now what?

I had some pictures of my eye taken and lots of measurements that allowed the surgeon to select the right size lenses for my new eyes. I had a few options. Typically the surgeon will select a focal length that allows one to see unaided at a distance so one doesn't require glasses to drive or walk around.

In my case, I work with my hands. I've always wore glasses. So I asked to have a focal length close so I can work with my hands without wearing prescription safety glasses. I still wear glasses to drive and to read but I don't need them to work.

- Will It Cost Six Million Dollars?

Like the Six Million Dollar Man, I did get rebuilt but the price tag was way less. I didn't get super human powers but I could see clearly without glasses for the first time in my life. Before the surgery, if I didn't have my glasses on , I could only see about 15 inches clearly and anything passed 6 feet was just a blur. If I dropped my glasses, it took me quite awhile to find them. Mind you anything six inches in front of my nose was 3 times larger so I had a built in magnifying glass. There are trade offs for everything I guess.

After the surgery I was supposed to have one eye with a close focal length and one eye with a distance focal range. So without glasses I could work with my hands, and still be able to walk around as well. I would need glasses to drive and to read.

Be sure you talk to your doctor before the operation and discuss what you require and what to expect. I didn't get all the answers I needed in hindsight. If I knew the results I would have asked for more clarification.

The Results

I can see better without glasses than ever before but I even after a year I have trouble reading a book for longer than 10 minutes. To be truthful I don't have typical eyes so the result I am living with are rare. It seems I have independent eyes not just one that is dominant.

My eye doctor notes that I see fine out of either eye by themselves. Far better than before the operation (even with glasses on). It is when I have both eyes open that I am having trouble with blurry vision. So having the different focal lengths is confusing the brain I guess. It's confusing my doctor as well so I have an appointment to see a specialist this month. Maybe I'll get the answers and maybe a solution.

I guess is that I should have had the close lens in my dominant eye and the distance lens in the other. Reading would have used the dominant eye in this way. But then again I may have had the trouble I am having reading now with driving if it was the other way around. I count my blessings.

Unlike the now popular Lasik surgery, that corrects vision by modifying the lens with lasers., cataracts make the lens irreparable. The lens has to be replaced and a simple 15 minute operation is all it takes.

It starts a week before you scheduled surgery with the use of eye drops to clean and disinfect the eye area. The drops follow again after the surgery for a week or two after.

As you see in the picture the crystalline lens sits inside an envelope called the lens cortex. A small round cut is made through cortex and the flap pulled back. The lens is shattered and the pieces removed. A new polymer lens is folded and inserted through the hole, unfolded and centered. The flap of cortex is flipped back and seals itself without the need to use stitches in most cases.

As soon as the local freezing wears off one is able to see fine. It is recommended that you don't drive yourself of course but there is no need to bandage the eye. Al that is required is to wear dark sunglasses for a few hours and that is for comfort more than anything.

A restriction from heavy lifting, showering, and avoiding dusty areas for a week as the eye heals is all the recovery time required. A daily regime of eye drops to keep the eye free of infection is all that it takes.