Cataract surgery and eye drops

[bunnings]

l had cataract surgery in my second eye a few days ago. it went well and my vision is good on the operating table just before the operation after they injected the drugs into my arm, either the surgeon or anaesthetists put eye drops into both the eye that was about to be operated on and my other eye which stung. l was wondering why they would also put eye drops into the eye that was not being operated on, After the surgery the vision in my non operated eye was a bit blurry, l asked the nurse why they put eye drops also in the non operated eye and she said it was to protect the eye incase something spills over from the other eye into it,, but that doesnt make much sense to me,. lm thinking they might have put it in by mistake

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Many surgeons put a long lasting lubricaing gel in the non-operated eye to keep it from drying out.  Also there is nothing that it put on the operated eye that would hurt the unoperated eye. If you are still concerned discuss with your surgeon

[bunnings]

Thanks , since eysterday in the eye that was operated on a few weeks ago l have started to notice some slight flickering of light in the central vision that comes and goes and although the vision is still very good l have noticed the reading vision is not as good as a week ago, l have an appointment to see my surgeon in 4 days, do you think it may be a more serious problem and l should try to see him right away

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

That is the type of question we are not allowed to answer for ethical and legal reasons. Rarely will you go wrong reporting matters of concern to the surgeon or he surgeon taken call.

[bunnings]

yes l will try to get it checked soon as l can, better safe then sorry

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

agreed

[bunnings]

l saw him and he said everything is fine, l got vivity in both eyes mini monivison , 20.5 left eye, 19.5 right eye, both eyes combined my vision is great, but if l close my right eye , which is the dominant eye the vision in my left eye does not seem as good as the right eye, for example if l am outdoors and look through my right eye everything looks high contrast high definition but if l just look through the left eye things look lower contrast lower definition then the right eye . Is that normal after cataract surgery to have better image quality or contrast with the dominant eye , especially outdoors? also l can read better with the right eye

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

It is likely you have residual refractive error. When you eye is healed you can ask the surgeon about wearing prescription glasses when you want to see the best you can with both eyes.

[bunnings]

could a refractive error be fixed with laser or more surgery  if  dont want glasses also l have noticed the past week the size of the pupil in that left eye has been twice the size of the pupil in the right eye, l wonder if that might be a factor

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You will need to ask your surgeon and also why your pupils are different sizes. Drops to dilate the eye post operative should have worn off by now

[bunnings]

How many weeks after cataract surgery has the eye totally healed or adjusted and you know the vision you got is the vision you are going to have permanently , l am totally  100% happy with my right eye but the left eye seems lower contrast, lower definition then the right eye, especially in low light

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

This is a generalization and does not apply to everyone. But by 6-8 weeks the glasses prescription and/or uncorrected vision is stable. The incision takes 6-12 months to fully heal.

[bunnings]

lm going to my optomerist for an eye exam next week, is it safe for them to put in those dilating eye drops they use for the exam while the eyes are still healing a couple weeks after surgery?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You will need to ask the optometrist. We cannot give absolute advice.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You will need to ask the eye surgeon and the optometrist. Not something I can determine

[bunnings]

l think my mistake was going with mini monovision, the vision in my right eye that was set for plano is totally perfect but the vision in my left eye set slighly nearer is not as good, not as good both for distance and reading. When l am outdoors in normal sunlight days the distance vision in my left eye seems just as good as my right eye but if l go outdoors at dusk or dawn in low light the idstance vision in my left eye seems dreadful compared to my right eye.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

That is due to the pupil size. Out doors when smaller it acts as a 'pinhole' refraction. When you are inside or in the dark and the pupile is larger it creates a mypic shift

[bunnings]

yes but why is it only my left eye thats blurry in low light and not the right , is that because the surgeon had it set at a different power then the right eye with mini monovision. ? In good light the vision in the left eye seems almost as good as the right eye but in low light it goes all low contrast and blurry compared to the other eye. Is it something the brain adjusts to in time and the good eye will take over from the bad eye in low light?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

At this point I have told you all I can tell you with reasonable accuracy. From here on it needs to come from your surgeon

[bunnings]

From my experience to others who are considering going with Vivity IOL, its a great lens as long as you have it set for plano or distance, that eye is 100% great from near to distance, the mistake l made was getting the other eye adjusted slighly nearer vision, the distance in that eye is good in good light but in low light the distance vision is bad.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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