Don't be surprised if your vision fluctuates for several days as the eye heals and the pupil returns to its normal size. Your eyesight might seem to be getting worse, then better, off and on for a few weeks. As mentioned, you'll notice fluctuations in your vision for a few weeks or even longer if you have had an accommodating lens implanted. This is normal and expected.
 |
| Eye Surgery Cataract |
Inside the eye there will be swelling and inflammation. These symptoms should subside within a week, but each patient is different. Younger patients, in theft fifties or sixties, and those with milder cataracts, heal more quickly than patients who are older or whose cataracts were extensive. Be assured, however, that the amount of time it takes your eye to heal won't change the ultimate outcome.
You'll see everything more clearly - including any preexisting floaters, those little objects in the vitreous humor that float across your field of vision. So if occasionally you notice something that looks like a gnat hovering at the edge of your field of vision, it's nothing to be concerned about.
Results of Cataract Surgery
After your eyes have healed and your brain and muscles have adjusted to the implanted lenses, your world will be brighter and clearer. You'll be able to focus better. Objects won't appear distorted-ghosting and double vision, though possibly not eliminated completely, will no longer be a problem. Colors will appear richer and more distinct. Contrast will be sharper.
You'll see well enough to work, to move around independently, and to enjoy the activities that you might have put on hold. You'll be less dependent on eyeglasses - you might not need them at all. Ideally, you'll be able to read the newspaper in good light. You probably won't be able to read the tiny print on products such as sweetener packets without a magnifying glass, but that's okay. Cataract surgery isn't a fountain of youth, but it does improve your vision. Being in your sixties, seventies, eighties, or nineties, and having the vision of a forty-year-old, is an amazing thing in itself.
As mentioned, your vision will fluctuate for a few weeks or longer, depending on the type of lens implanted. Even so, within twenty-four hours your eyesight will be markedly improved - so much so that you'll probably be eager to schedule surgery for the other eye at your follow-up visit to your doctor. Cataract surgery is a low-risk procedure, and complications are rare. Still, you should be aware of possible side effects and potential problems.
Risks and Side Effects of Cataract Surgery
The success of surgery is greatly dependent on the skill and experience of your surgeon. It's important that you make a careful, informed choice regarding your surgeon and that you follow his or her instructions for aftercare, including follow-up visits.
No replacement lens, however sophisticated it might be, is as good as a young, healthy, crystal clear natural lens. Though your vision will almost certainly be better than before your surgery, it will not be as sharp as a teenager's. Nighttime halos and glare, double vision, and ghosting might not be eliminated altogether.
Even so, by replacing a clouded natural lens - which is only going to get worse over time - with a clear, durable, state-of-the-art synthetic lens, you will see images more vividly than you have for years (including those occasional dots in your field of vision - tiny fragments known as floaters). You'll enjoy greater independence and a wider range of activities. And all this will be possible with less dependence - maybe even no dependence - on eyeglasses. To find out more, you can check out Eye Surgery Cataract.