I had refractive lens exchange surgery in June .my vision was good initially but over the last couple of weeks I have noticed my vision seems to be a bit cloudy . I'm concerned that my eyesight may be deteriorating if this is possible . What can the cause of the cloudy vision be
This could be PCO which is one of the most common cataract surgery complications - posterior capsule opacity (also called posterior capsule opacification or PCO). a YAG laser treatment can clear that up. Most cataract patients get this in first 5 years after surgery and the younger you are the sooner you can experience that (at least that is what my surgeon said).
As it had only been a few months since surgery you should go back to your opthamologist to inquire. And if you have any thoughts about exchanging your lenses do not proceed with the laser treatment as this opens up the back of the capsule making an exchange more difficult if not impossible.
Is there an option to change my lenses . I have monofocal lenses . I have reading glasses for near vision & very small print. They only +1.25
I didn’t realize you had monofocal lenses - most of the time it is those with premium lenses that want to exchange due to nighttime issues.
Are you in the US? How much did you pay for refractive lens exchange? Since it's elective surgery, if you want to switch to premium lenses now you are probably going to have to pay for the second surgery plus the cost of the premium lenses.
I am in UK
Had surgery in June this year .,What is the difference between mono focal and premium . The lenses i have are also tonic lenses
Didn’t realize you were in UK. If you had the cataract surgery done through the NHS they would only be able to offer monofocal lenses. I believe those are completed covered along with the surgery. If you were interested in different lenses you wold need them done privately which would have added significantly to the cost.
If your vision was fine after the surgery and has only done ec ntlyngotbhaxy or blurry likely you have PCO which dies occur. My surgeon said most cataract patients develop that within 1 to 5 years with younger patients seeing it sooner. You just need to make an appointment with your opthamologist to confirm this is what is causing the hazy vision and they will schedule you for a laser treatment to clear that up.
No need to look at a lens exchange if prior to this your vision was good.
Shrimpy said he or she wants to have a lens exchange because of having to wear reading glasses. Shrimpy, if you want to have a lens exchange to a premium lens like the Symfony lens that may allow you to read without glasses (I say "may" because sometimes they don't work for people to be able to read without glasses), you will have to pay for the lenses and maybe also for the 2nd surgery, I'm not sure.
Also sometimes toric lenses can rotate in the eye, but from what you described it sounds like PCO like Sue mentioned.
Shrimpie - in the United States if you don't have cataracts you have to pay for refractive lens exchange out of pocket (it's at least $10,000 probably). I'm not sure how it works over there, so I don't know if you want a premium lens exchange if you will have to pay for it or not. Did you have to pay anything for the first surgery? And your surgeon didn't mention the choices of lenses at all?
Just wondering why you're asking about a lens exchange here when on another thread you said: "Not sure how that would work out . I have monofocal In both eyes as due to a muscle convergence the consultant advised there was a risk the muscles wouldn't take to multifocal or mono vision ( 1 lens for reading & 1 lens for distance ) You can always ask but I would think that as you would need multifocal in both eyes."
Premium lenses are all lenses that are not standard monofocal lens (non-standard monofocal lenses include toric lenses that also cost extra money). Premium lenses include: 1) all multifocal lens, 2) the Symfony lens, 3) the Crystalens, etc.
And for anyone else reading this who's considering getting refractive lens exchange (also known as cataract surgery without having cataracts), don't do it. It comes with all the risks of cataract surgery (which people incorrectly seem to think has no risks at all) when you can stick with glasses or contact lenses and have no problems and on top of that you have to pay a small fortune for it.
And if you are dead set on getting RLE, at least educate yourself before and know what the different type of IOLs are and the complications associated with each kind, along with the possible complications and ramifications of the surgery. You're talking about your eyesight here, not going to the dentist to have a tooth pulled or something.
I just realized why you don't know what a premium lens is unlike people who do research before they have cataract surgery. With cataract surgery, most insurance plans cover the entire cost of a standard monofocal lens (at least in the US, it's almost always covered 100%, if not always). Only premium lenses cost extra (insurance companies don't cover them). With RLE, since insurance doesn't cover any of it, all lenses have to be paid for by the person having the surgery, including monofocals.
And if you or anyone else wants to read about people who had complications from refractive lens exchange, just do a google search for the following words and read the 30 pages of posts (page 30 starts the first comments and page 1 has the latest comments):
refractive lens exchange complications forum optical express
And there's not a lot of recent posts on there because I don't think many people even know about that forum, plus it's specific to Optical Express in the UK, but I would think anyone can sign up and post there.
I also know people whose eyes were ruined by Lasik or PRK done after cataract surgery, so that's also something not to take lightly. Most of the time it turns out alright, but not always and if it doesn't turn out alright for you, you will potentially suffer greatly with nothing to be done to fix it other than maybe wearing scleral lenses.
Another good article to read on refractive lens exchange is:
Fears over eye surgery at High St clinic: Patients left with worse sight after lens implants
And one last thing for anyone wanting to have refractive lens exchange. Some people who get this are apparently not aware that their eye's natural lens is removed and replaced with an artificial man-made lens (an intraocular lens, also known as an IOL). This is in no way a good thing to do to your eyes just to avoid having to wear glasses or contact lenses. Therefore, make sure you understand all that's involved before having refractive lens exchange (and if after RLE you are told you need YAG laser to fix something called PCO, keep in mind that after that procedure is done you no longer will be able to have the original IOL removed and replaced with a different type of IOL - sometimes they can do it, but it's way more difficult).