Day 315 - Eye Surgery, Cataracts - When Things Go Wrong

Planning eye / cataracts surgery? Watch this. Several bits of information I had to learn through experience. Some things you may want to discuss with your doctor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ9k...ature=youtu.be

NOTE: I am not a doctor nor medically trained. I am sharing my experiences. You should consult with your doctor about what you need. You use this information at your own risk.

CORRECTIONS TO DAY 7 VIDEO
- First doctor admitted she made a mistake: "I used the wrong calculation for your eyes." My corneas are very flat compared to average people.
- I should need glasses closer than half a meter, but not beyond, certainly not at 2 to 2.5 meters (yards). The doctor made me way too farsighted.


315 DAY APPOINTMENT
- Odd in that I got the usual refraction (no problems) and I had the first appointment but they kept me until I was the last patient in the office. When I saw the doctor she did not check my eyes until the very last thing.
- Instead she began to talk about the same "options" as months ago. No better solutions, in fact some really bad ideas such as making my left eye equally farsighted.
- I asked what her specialty was (cornea surgery lasix and PRK) and then if she could fix the ultra-farsightedness and she said no.
- I then realized I was not there for an eye check up, but for a post operative counseling session the points of which were:
1) it was not their fault (and they don't believe the first doc admitted making a mistake) even though there's a legal waiver in place, they refuse to take responsibility (lesson there) and this was a "normal outcome" even though I don't know anyone anywhere who has had this outcome. It's not "normal"
2) correction of my right eye is highly risky and not recommended.
3) The options for my left eye she did not recommend any of them in particular. A) make it as farsighted as the left (terrible idea for people who need close up vision)
B) Make it slightly near or farsighted ("mono vision" where the eyes are not closely matched)
C) Install multi focus (with all its issues)
4) I need to accept that I am now handicapped and will have permanent changes in my life.

Using my eyes closeup, over any differing range or where depth perception is needed is not possible or more difficult: computer, driving, pilot, scuba diving, hobbies (knitting / sewing, electronics, ...), walking, reading, cooking...


LESSONS LEARNED (SO FAR)
- Cataract replacement is not as cut and dried as I had thought, it's still a work in progress
- There is no substitute for my natural lenses, taking care of them would have been the best option
- The procedure is destructive and there are some less-than-reversible aspects to it. It really should be a 1 time thing.
- I hurried, did not fully understand the options and outcomes of each. I failed to take into account LIFESTYLE as a major part of the decision

Innovations | Feb 2015
Almost half of IOL exchanges are attributable to either incorrect IOL power or patients' dissatisfaction for reasons such as dysphotopsia. Despite advances in biometric and topographic analysis, refractive outcomes are still imprecise. In a study of more than 17,000 cataract surgeries in Sweden, only 55% of eyes achieved planned emmetropia (defined as a spherical equivalent of ±0.50 D from plano and less than 1.00 D of astigmatism).5 Simon et al recently published their experience at a teaching institution: although 67% of patients were within ±0.50 D of the targeted refraction postoperatively, fully one-third had a residual refractive error that was more than 0.50 D than intended.