Cataract surgery planned for 80 year old. Left eye amblyopic since age 9.

[dmf1963]

My doctor may recommend surgery on amblyopic eye first.   Whether it will improve vision in that eye much is questionable.  If it does, is there a chance that because it is a "lazy eye", will I have trouble focusing or see "double".?    I am in very good health and play golf 2-3 times/week.

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

While it is not possible to answer your question with specificty, I can make some generalizations.  1. If you are happy with your vision and your 'good' eye does not have a cataract or if it has a cataract it is not getting worse in recent years. you really don't need to do anything. However if your good eye is failing, surgeons always want to do the 'bad eye' first. Sometimes the surgeon learn something from the first eye that helps on the second eye surgery. Obviously you don't want to learn on the good eye.   Since your brain is used to ignoring the central vision from you bad eye (that is what amblyopia is) it is uncommon for people with amblopia to complain of that  after having surgery on the weaker eye.