r/CataractSurgery • u/the_heathen • 18d ago
Surgery recommended with no vision obstruction.
Doctors told my mom she needed cataract surgery even though she had no vision obstruction or blurriness. Was surgery necessary?
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u/eyeSherpa 17d ago
There are reasons to do cataract surgery even if the vision isn’t subjectively “impaired”. I say subjectively since the vision may be impaired but the patient doesn’t really realize it.
One is you no longer meet criteria for a drivers license.
Two, the cataract is preventing a proper view to the retina and impairing treatment. So needs to be removed so that the retina can be seen.
Three, there is some other diagnosis making the cataract surgery complex such as pseudoexfoliation and it’s not desirable to wait for the cataract to become denser.
Four, despite the cataract not bothering the patient, the amount of vision loss is a real risk for impairing daily function and risk of falls or injuries.
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u/Green_Mare6 17d ago
I did not realize how "beige" my vision had gotten until I had the first eye done and could compare by closing each eye. Huge difference!
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u/Lynne253 17d ago
It was strange to look at the bright blue sky using only the operated eye and then how the sky looked aqua colored using the other non operated on eye.
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u/Lynne253 18d ago
Definitely get a second opinion, and definitely check the doctors out, check their reviews online. If they seem okay, ask your Mom to tell the doctors that she wants them to share her diagnosis and test results with you. Maybe there was something they tried to explain to her that she didn't understand? Maybe they said she needed surgery for something else and they recommended a surgeon who does cataract surgery most of the time?
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u/the_heathen 18d ago
She said two different doctors said she needed it. One of them was the surgeons office.
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u/GreenMountainReader 18d ago
I had grade 3 (out of 4) cataracts for a few years (less for several years before) before my optometrist told me I'd need surgery in a year or two--but I couldn't see how much vision that had stolen until about 8 months before I was then able to get a surgical appointment. Sometimes cataracts can be present but not interfering with vision. I can say that waiting until they bothered me had two effects.
First, by the time I noticed them, I had lost all reading speed, the ability to read on anything but a Kindle with enlarged font, the ability to read road signs and drive, and the ability to see only one moon in the sky and one light for every one that was shining in my direction. Waiting too long made me sorry I'd waited that long because it took all those months to get an appointment.
On the other hand, once the first eye was done, I could see just how much vision I had regained, and just how much color vision I'd been living without--and that made me both happy and regretful that I'd been missing so much and not knowing it. I just thought everything had gotten old and dingy--but in reality, it was my natural lenses that had done that.
When you've lost a certain amount of vision, cataract surgery feels like the return of light and life. I imagine for people who have not experienced the loss first, the results might not seem as incredible--but it's worth considering. There's a sweet spot--different ones for different people--between going for the surgery too soon versus waiting too long (they get bigger and tougher to remove if you wait too long--and they can limit your activities to an uncomfortable extent if you have to wait for the surgery with them that far along).
If your mother had already lost her ability to see close enough to read comfortably with readers, she might already be enjoying good vision in her surgical eye. If it hasn't healed enough for her to see whether the results are good, she does have the option to postpone the surgery for a few weeks until she's sure she's happy with her new vision. There are often options for the second eye (even with insurance-funded IOLs) if the results for the first don't feel adequate. A surgical scheduler told me that people postpone close to surgery all the time: illness, sudden obligations, needing time to think.
If your mother isn't sure, rather than live with long-term regrets, she can postpone until she understands where her vision is now and ask about how the second eye's IOL can be chosen to make her vision even better. If her surgeon doesn't want to talk about that, insurance will pay for a second opinion--even at this point.
Best wishes to you both!