Cataract surgery is a common and safe procedure that can help restore vision. However, it is important to be aware of the potential side effects and complications that can occur after the procedure. In this article, we will discuss which symptoms are abnormal after cataract surgery and when it is worth calling the doctor. The most common symptom after cataract surgery is blurred vision.
This should improve within a week, but if it does not, it is important to see an ophthalmologist. Other causes of continuous blurred vision are residual refractive error (the eyes still need additional correction with glasses), eye dryness, or opacity of the back capsule (PCO). It is also normal to feel like there is sand in your eyes or that your eyes are itchy after surgery. This is caused by the small incision in the eye and should heal in a week or so.
If you have dry eyes, the discomfort may last longer, up to three months. Some patients with cataracts require a suture or suture in the eye during surgery. This shouldn't bother you, but sometimes it's necessary to remove the suture after surgery. PCO is a fairly common complication that can occur weeks, months, or (more often) years after cataract surgery.
Ongoing dry eyes and blepharitis can also cause ongoing sensitivity to light. Extreme sensitivity to light may be a sign of infection and requires immediate attention to avoid vision loss. Suprachoroidal bleeding can occur in people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or other conditions that exist after cataract surgery. This complication is rare but requires immediate attention to avoid vision loss.
Other possible
complications of cataract surgery
range from mild eye inflammation to serious vision loss. Patients experience symptoms such as blurred vision, sensitivity to light, glare, halos and double vision with cataracts, among others. The only way to regain clear vision is to remove cataracts during cataract surgery. Because cataract surgery only involves the surface layers of the eye, over-the-counter pain relievers usually help. In most cataract surgeries, the intraocular lens is placed inside the capsular pouch, which contains the natural cloudy lens or cataract of the eye.The choice of laser cataract surgery is a precise procedure using laser technology and intraoperative aberrometry (ORA). People whose vision doesn't improve after cataract surgery often have underlying eye disorders, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other eye conditions. Statistics suggest that the lifetime risk of a detached retina as a complication of cataract surgery in the United States is about 1%. This is rare but more common in people who had eye conditions other than cataracts even before surgery. Cataract surgery recovery usually takes a short period of time and you can return to many of your normal daily activities.
While the vast majority of patients with cataracts recover completely after cataract surgery, a small percentage will experience complications. When complications from cataract surgery occur, most are mild and can be successfully treated by medical means or with additional procedures. Up to half of people who have cataract surgery will experience some increase in eye pressure after the procedure, but pressure levels usually return to normal within 24 hours. This is the most common complication of most cataract surgeries and appears up to 8 weeks after the procedure. A study of more than 221,000 cataract surgery patients showed that 99.5% of patients had no serious complications after the procedure. Other possible side effects of cataract surgery range from mild eye inflammation to serious vision loss. Because the symptoms of normal side effects and serious complications are so similar, you may be wondering when it's worth calling the doctor after
cataract surgery
.If you experience sudden decrease in vision, redness in the eye or around the eye that persists after two days, continuous sensitivity to light, eye discharge, persistent pain, fever, nausea or vomiting, sudden increase in floating particles or blinking lights then it is important to contact your ophthalmologist immediately.
