Cataract Surgery

[bobby_hamill]

Had cataract surgery on my right eye 17 Aug and will have left eye done on 14 Sept. After cataract was removed there was a liens transplant done.

Wanted to ask any members on here if they have had cataract surgery how bad was their close up vision? I know "readers" will be required but was wondering what my close up viewing will be as fare as building rockets ?

Also I love taking photos with my Nikon D7100 and am worried I will have troubles looking through the view finder the DSLR camera .

Thanks

Bobby

 

[tsmith1315]

It's pretty normal to need a mild distance Rx, with a ~2.50 bifocal add power for up close.

Did you have an upgraded procedure with mutifocal implants, or accomodating lenses?


edit:
(I'm an optician)
I see you're expecting readers, so no multifocal or accomodating implants, and the surgeon is
probably shooting for optimum distance vision with readers for up close.
You'll be fine with readers, and unless you were very nearsighted before, hobby work should
be as good, and hopefully better than before.

I have to use readers with my old EOS DSLR, but it's no problem with them on.

 

[crossfire]

Unless you got the special lens that is made like bifocal glasses your close up vision is gone. It kind of sucks to need readers for up close. But far vision should be better than you had it for years.

 

[Bat-mite]

I got the multifocal lenses. They're a mixed blessing. One of my eyes had astigmatism, and thus, even though I got multifocals, one is better for distance and one for mid-range. Close-up is okay in lots of light, but I usually need reading glasses in dim light.

 

[bobby_hamill]

That is what the Dr was shooting for good distance vision with readers for close up
I have astigmatism in both eyes so I will still need glasses for distance but not as strong as before .

Bobby

 

[tsmith1315]

You'll be in good shape once they're both done! Your post-op follow-up appointments may seem routine, but don't discount their importance.

 

[Zeus-cat]

My Canon DSLR has an adjustment for the viewfinder, so you should be able to adjust yours as well. Look for a small wheel or knob near the viewfinder. I can adjust it for me and my wife can adjust it for her. Neither of us can see much of anything when it is set up for the other, so it has a wide range.

 

[kuririn]

My dad had cataract surgery decades ago.
He had put it off because he only had one good eye.
His reaction after the surgery:
I should have done this years ago!
Good luck.

 

[neil_w]

My Dad got cataract surgery a couple of years ago. He had rather bad astigmatism, which they were able to correct almost completely, and now he often doesn't need to wear any glasses. First time I saw him without glasses I almost didn't recognize him, it was truly weird.

They can do near-miraculous things these days.

 

[modeltrains]

My parents have had cataract surgery/lens replacement and commented that with the new lens, colors seemed just a hair bluer than with natural lens.
And generally more vivid across the spectrum.
By that time in their lives they had worn glasses for a few decades anyway and I do not recall any commentary about needing changes or new reading glasses -- Does not mean there was no commentary, just that I do not recall any.
It is the color thing which stuck in my memory.

 

[tsmith1315]

My Canon DSLR has an adjustment for the viewfinder, so you should be able to adjust yours as well. Look for a small wheel or knob near the viewfinder.

I've used this camera for years and had no idea!!!!

I even made myself a pair of bifocal reading glasses with the power for the viewfinder in the top, specifically for the camera!!

All I had to do was turn the dial!!! . What an idiot!

My parents have had cataract surgery/lens replacement and commented that with the new lens, colors seemed just a hair bluer than with natural lens.
And generally more vivid across the spectrum.

The natural lens filters colors differently as it becomes opacified. It tends to turn a little brownish, like a blue-blocker lens.
So when that's replaced with a clear lens, everything is brighter, but especially blues.

 

[bobby_hamill]

That is one of the first things that I noticed after 1st surgery was the slight blueish tent in the right eye sight, Almost like the light green went to a light blue color

 

[Voyager1]

I had my left eye done about 18 months ago. The result was really good with quite good focus over a few metre without correction, but I do use reading glasses generally. I was a little anxious before the surgery, but it was fine. I hadn’t noticed any change in my color perception.

 

[Papa]

I had both eyes done 5 years ago. I was seeing faint double images out of the right eye. Doctor Stahl in Dayton Ohio installed a good near vision lens in the right eye, followed 6 weeks later with a lens to correct astigmatism in the left. I was seeing faint triple images in the left by the time of the surgery. I was massively near sighted, but had good close up vision prior to replacement. I use a 1.5 reader if I'm going to spend time reading book, or work on rockets. One of the biggest changes I noticed was how white, white actually was. My original lens had turned a yellowish brown, so everything had that cast to it. Overall the best thing I've ever done to myself, however, everybody is different. I also had a second laser surgery on both eyes. The lens sits in a little pocket of tissue and that pocket can discolor too. Laser surgery was about a year after initial surgery. Doctor shoots holes through the pocket material. That seemed to improve both near and far. It took me 4 to 6 weeks after the second second implant to really know my vision improvement. So give yourself some time.
Jeff

 

[Papa]

PS
My lens pass more UV light than normal vision. Those UV lights they use a cash registers really really glows now. More than a little surprising the first time back to Hobby Lobby...

 

[Bill Heath]

Had cataract surgery on my right eye 17 Aug and will have left eye done on 14 Sept. After cataract was removed there was a liens transplant done.

Wanted to ask any members on here if they have had cataract surgery how bad was their close up vision? I know "readers" will be required but was wondering what my close up viewing will be as fare as building rockets ?

Also I love taking photos with my Nikon D7100 and am worried I will have troubles looking through the view finder the DSLR camera .

Thanks

Bobby

Being able to see distant objects, like rockets, more than compensates for having to wear readers. I know. I had both eyes done 5 years ago. It was like a miracle to see again.

 

[Simon Auty]

Bobby I’m an ophthalmic theatre nurse.
If you can afford it ask your surgeon if your vision is suitable for a Toric lens (astigmatism correction).
Most of our patients after Toric implant don’t require glasses for their astigmatism (but still need off the shelf readers) if we are aiming for mono (distance) vision.
There are (very) expensive multi focal lens, but you need to go to a surgeon that has a lot of experience with them to get the best results.
They can cause contrast sensitivity issues, don’t do well in low light conditions and cause ‘halos’ (street lighting will look like it’s got rings around it) they are about (USD)$1000 each, but about 50% of the lenses we put in are multifocal

 

[b.wieting]

I had both eyes done about 7 years ago, like you in two separate sessions. I chose the simple distance-focus implant lens because I prioritize distance vision (astronomy hobby as well as rockets) and don't really mind wearing readers. I remain very happy with it.
BTW, while I do wear glasses (I need "prism" correction, that's another story), I decided I didn't like progressives (aka bifocals) since they seemed to compromise depth-perception while skiing. I just have simple (prism-corrected) glasses and buy readers at Target.
The most startling change for me was color. When I went back to work the next day I realized the office wasn't dingy, the walls were clean and white. And my wife hadn't painted the living room orange. I also remember how vividly blue and green landscapes seemed. All logical since cataracts absorb shorter wavelengths, yet still surprising.

 

[jqavins]

(Sorry, I didn't read the whole thread up to now, but I just bet no one's mentioned this yet. EDIT: I just did a "Find in page" for the word color, and the change in color perception after the operation is not what I'm talking about below.)

When my mother had her cataracts done, and it was under a local, she told me that during the operation she saw colors that don't exist in normal human experience. Apparently, the blue cones in the retina are sensitive to near UV that is normally blocked out by the lens. And there was plenty of near UV in the operating room due to the fluorescent lights. So when the lens was removed, she got a response ratio between the three cone types that is otherwise impossible, and thus colors that "don't exist".

That sounds so cool that it's almost got me looking forward to cataracts. Almost.

 

[neil_w]

That is fascinating.

 

[crossfire]

One thing that I was not told was the risk retina detachment after cataract surgery. I ended having one 6 months after surgery and the Doc. Said normally they will happen within a 3 month time frame after surgery. So if you have any signs of DR get to ER as fast as you can. You don't want to lose your sight.

 

[Simon Auty]

Yes Crossfire, there is a risk of detachment. This is increased if your a myope (short sighted). In the correct turn of events this is something your surgeon should tell you about during the consent process.
And to Neil W, unfortunately not everyone sees the colours. It depends mostly on the anaesthesia. If you have a complete block then you won’t see any colours (as the optic nerve will be asleep)

 

[jqavins]

When the time comes, I'll have to remember to ask my surgeon and/or anesthesiologist* if I can have it done without the complete block.

* Do they even need an anesthesiologist when only a local is involved?

 

[Simon Auty]

Depends on the surgeon some will do it with just topical anaesthesia (drops), some with intracameral (combination of drops and a little inside the eye), some will do a regional block - usually a subtenon block- this uses a blunt tip cannula that slides around the outside of the eye to a space behind it where we’ll put 3-5ml of local. Then depending on to many factors to control you either get a complete block so the muscles and nerves are anaesthetised and you won’t feel or see anything for about 4 hours, or you get an incomplete block where you might see the colours but pretty much everything else is anaesthetised and they don’t last as long (2-4hours).

 

[crossfire]

Not sure what I had for anaesthesia? I was put out laying on a table and dont remember a thing. When I woke I could see.

 

[jqavins]

So you were put under a general. Simon can say better than I, but I bet they also put some sort of paralytic in the eye.

 

[crossfire]

What is a papalytic?

 

[jqavins]

It's a special kind of typographical error, where you misspell paralytic because your fingers won't move correctly.

 

[bobby_hamill]

I was given some liquid by mouth then when I went into or room i did not hear anything or feel anything or see anything jut a white light in my right eye.

They had an IV hooked up so the IV must have put me under

 

[modeltrains]

I understand that, I totally understand the intrigue and appeal of that experience!

When my mother had her cataracts done, and it was under a local, she told me that during the operation she saw colors that don't exist in normal human experience. Apparently, the blue cones in the retina are sensitive to near UV that is normally blocked out by the lens. And there was plenty of near UV in the operating room due to the fluorescent lights. So when the lens was removed, she got a response ratio between the three cone types that is otherwise impossible, and thus colors that "don't exist".

That sounds so cool that it's almost got me looking forward to cataracts. Almost.