I saw this post in these forums-
Here in Canada the wait time between surgeries for cataracts is 4 weeks - 6 weeks apart. The surgeons want to know where first eye ends up so they can make adjustments to the target of second eye.
Sounds good, but in the 5 weeks inbetween my surgeries I think the first eye that was done was only checked 1 day and 1 week after surgery. Usually you have a 1 month check but I didn't on that first eye. It was checked the day after my 2nd eye surgery , so 5 weeks from the first surgery.
I was supposed to have them 2 weeks apart but had to reschedule due to a bad cough. Still, if I'd had it done 2 weeks after the first , as planned , they wouldn't really have known yet where the first eye "ended up." to be able to make adjustments. I'm guessing they usually see changes/improvements in the month post-op visit from the 1 week post-op visit . I have no problems with mine but I think I'd advise others to wait 5 or 6 weeks in-between surgeries.
However I do understand that some have trouble during that in-between time. I found I could wear one contact and be okay , but when I tried my glasses (one lens had been replaced with clear glass) it was very disorienting. I think it was because my first eye done was done for near vision, the contact Ii had in my 2nd eye was for far vision, but my glasses were multifocals.
6 weeks is probably better if changes are to be made in the 2nd IOL based on how you are doing a month later with the first IOL. The dr's office may need a week to order the IOL.
I had my second eye done in 4 weeks,maybe I should have waited longer ,since I have a dark shadow/rim in the corner of my eye.The surgeon claims it will go away in 4 months. I have yet to see any changes from day one.
I am scheduled to have YAG treatment tomorrow to clear up the cloudiness on the back of the lens.My left eye has cloudiness also,not sure what his plans will be for it,whether a lens change out to get rid of the black shadow/rim.They say once you have the YAG treatment it's very difficult to replace the lens after the fact.My eyes are worst from the surgery than before the implants.I just hope with time things get better.
Hi - I think that quote for time between surgeries is mine and yes Canada (due to surgery being covered by Medicare for cataracts) there is a wait time between surgeries. About 4 weeks.
I realize other countries do things differently.
The only exception would be if you did the surgery privately (not for cataract reasons) but to be rid of glasses. In that case I have seen them do the surgeries close together. In my opinion this is done like lasik so no one can compare new vision with vision out of other eye that still has it’s natural lens.
Yes for cataract surgery it is a long wait and troublesome to manage in between the surgeries. But I thought of it this way. I would rather be inconvenienced a few weeks versus put up for rest of my life with sub par vision. That newly implanted IOL takes weeks to settle and adhere and as it does you could be off target and be slightly more near sighted or far sighted than you wished for. The 2nd surgery can compensate a bit for that so that you don’t end up with too much of a monovision to deal with.
Just my opinion but short term pain for long term gain is my bet.
Yes once you have YAG procedure it is trickier for lens exchange so if you are contemplating that you should hold off.
The black rim you see could be edge of IOL. Some IOLs are more prone to that than others but those come with another complication so it’s a question of which you’d rather. If the rim is something you see at night with lights then it is more due to your pupil dilating beyond the IOL and that will disappear in time as you age. Pupils dilate more when you are younger.
Annoyingly here in the UK waiting time between surgeries. Well I'm still waiting I had my first eye done 31st January this year. Those getting done at 4-6 wks tho to me it's too early as my eye was much better at the 8 wk stage. But it's 5 mths later and the difference in eyes is awful to deal with I feel like my life is on hold.
That does seem excessive. I know UK like Canada cover the expense of cataract surgery (cataract has to be bad enough though - meaning vision cannot be corrected with glasses anymore). Is it same in UK?
The wait time is much longer here, in Metro Vancouver alone currently there are around 23k people waiting for free cataract surgeries. I also read up on the guidelines for 'surgical management' in BC, it can be 20/50 or worse. Sigh! Perhaps we should move to Qc or the Maritimes.
I only had one eye done (with the other cataract not causing problems yet) and can say that my vision changed from immediately post-op (about -1.0D) to a little more near-sighted (-1.25D) after about 8 weeks. I had the sense that it slowly changed somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks, but I can't be sure. Seems stable now (8 months post-op) though I haven't had a recent test. The .25 change may not seem like a big deal, but I assume many on this forum would interested since they may be aiming for a specific result. The actual target was 1.39D so I guess it ended up pretty close in the end. Fortunately, my other eye is similar, so I didn't have to deal with the problem of interim asymmetry.
If I had to do both eyes around the same time, I'd definitely want to wait at least 6-8 weeks, if at all possible, just to be sure about the second target. Hope this helps.
I think that it is a good idea to follow the advice in your quote "The surgeons want to know where first eye ends up so they can make adjustments to the target of second eye."
Unfortunately, many surgeons don't follow that rule. In that case, it is up to a smart patient to make sure that there is enough gap between the timing of the two surgeries.
It is important to have enough period between the 2 surgeries not only for "the
adjustments to the target of second eye" but also for the adjustment in the calculation of the IOL power of the second eye, if needed, based on what the surgeon learns from the amount of error he/she made in the calculation of the power of the IOL for the first eye.
If there is a scheduling conflict to have the first eye checked about a month after the first eye surgery, one should delay the second surgery until at least 2 weeks after the first eye examination to have enough time to make the right decisions for the second eye.
I know that doing this prolongs the period of less-than-desired vision combination of the 2 eyes, but that is worth it because of the associated long-term benefits.
Quebec is better - my friend says they even pay premium lens cost there. I think here once yourveyes cannot be corrected with glasses you are approved for cataract surgery however wait to see opthamologist is about 3 months and then I waited another 4 months before first surgery.
Medicare pays in the U.S. too and we can schedule them
a week apart if we want.
In the U.S. for insurance to pay it’s either 20/40 or 20/50 . If that’s all they can correctnyou to you qualify.
Your drs there must share a lot more with you because all these numbers mean nothing to me. No one ever told me what my target numbers were .
Unfortunately, even in our area in USA, most of the cataract surgeons don't spend the time to educate or discuss with the patients on the target vision distance they are trying to achieve with each eye. They just try to get each eye set for far distance and assume that that serves best the need for everyone. And if they don't achieve their target, they just gloss over that fact.
That is where being an informed consumer helps. If one asks the surgeon the right question, then he/she will hopefully discuss the distance choices better.
Yes it's the same is the UK it has to be quite advanced.
I am worried about this myself.. My vision was tested at 6 wks when it took a bad turn.. He has based his opinion on what the target is for my other eye surgery on thus but my eye corrected itself at 8 wks ND was much better. Now I'm worried about the results I will get on my second eye when I get my surgery.
In my case they were not both set for distance.
I have monovision- one for near and one for far distance. I asked the optometrist who checks me after, if I’d have better distance vision had I gotten Symfony lenses. He said he didn’t think so.
Here in the UK, it's common practice to wait 1 week, if you're paying for private treatment. Not sure about wait times on the NHS.
I am not convinced scheduling cataract surgeries a week a part is best course of action. However if that is what someone wants not my place to say otherwise. One can choose their course of action but has to live with the outcome.