Recurring Cataracts?

Question

I had cataract surgery on both eyes just over a year ago. A few weeks ago I noticed my eyesight is very poor again. It almost seems to be going in the same direction it did when I first started getting cataracts.

Its hard to drive at night, halos around lights etc, having a really hard time seeing up close, even with glasses.

I know that the seeing up close part may be just me needing to update my prescription, but the rest of it?

I was told when I had the surgery they wouldnt recurr but now Im wondering if that is not true. I read something briefly a week ago that says they can recurr.

Answer 1

In the 'old' days, cataracts were removed totally. After the eye is anesthesized and cleaned and sterilized and...an incision was made from 9 to 3. The cornea was lifted up, the fluid dried, the lens grasped with either a little suction thingy, or a cryo probe (think tongue sticking to the frozen pole and won't come off), and the lens moved gently back and forth and up and down till all the little zonular fibers broke. Then the whole lens was removed intact. The eye was then closed with sutures. Those people had to wear thick glasses to see, as they didn't have a lens inside the eye to do the work that the old removed lens used to do before it got all cloudy.

Then they changed to a different type of cataract removal. They'd go into the eye with a smaller incision, open the capsular covering of the lens, rotate the lens nucleus, remove it, then suction the remaining cortex out. This left a hollow capsule or bag.

Later we started putting lenses inside this bag. The way of the surgery changed to phaco, which is a rapidly vibrating tip that makes the lens material into powder and tha'ts suctioned out along with the remaining cortex material. Again a bag into which they put an intraocular lens.

That's how it's done now. The problem is that when they remove the lens, they don't get all the lens cells. Some remain. If these lens cells migrate and grow across the posterior bag or posterior capsule, it causes a blur (you know exactly what I'm saying here). The way we used to fix this was to make the eye numb, insert a needle behind the intraocular lens, inject a little bit of fluid to push the capsule away from the lens, then allow the fluid to leak out so the needle was catching the capsule. Then a tear was made in the capsule, the needle removed.....all fixed.

Later they developed a YAG laser which causes a mini explosion at an exact site. They dilate the pupil, focus on the capsule, shoot it a few times, the capsule opens, you go home and can now see. Done.

So the cataract is GONE. It can't come back. But those cells can fog up the capsule, and the Rx is easy, fast, not painful at all, and takes only a few minutes to do.

Answer 2

The *cataracts* cannot recur. They're gone.

But a certain percentage of people develop what are sometimes termed "after-cataracts".
The outer capsule of the lens of the eye is retained during the operation, to act as a "pouch" to hold the artificial lens implant. This means you are not faced with thick glasses or contact lenses after cqataract surgery, which used to be the case.
Occasionally this capsule does go gradually cloudy after the operation, producing an effect much like developing cataract. If it's going to happen, it's within the first two years of the op.
Dealing with this is much less of a job than the original cataract surgery. It just needs a brief touch with a YAG laser, from the outside of the eye requiring no contact with the eye or anaesthetic.

Other possibilities are much less likely, but would be considered if, on examination, there was no capsule opacification or if the YAG treatment didn't provide the desired result. (The laser doesn't change the Rx at all, so any shift in Rx that might have occured will be a separate question.)

Answer 3

Cataracts cannot reoccur. The surgeon removes the crystalline lens that has become clouded and will often times implant a lens ( aka an IOL) Halos and problems with glare is common after surgery. They make those cataract sheilds for people who have problems with bright sun light as well post-operatively. You've seen them; they are huge all-black plastic sheilds that actually fit over your regular glasses. My grandmother has problems driving at night ever since her cataract surgery several years ago.

If you just had the surgery several weeks ago, you probably haven't been to the Optometrist to have a post-op refraction done, where they issue you a new prescription now that you have had the cataracts taken out. Often times, the distance will improve but you will still need the reading correction. if you are trying to see through a pair of glasses that you wore BEFORE the surgery, then they are most likely too strong.

More than likely, your eyes are still adjusting to the results of the surgery. I'm sure you've had several post-op checks already and I'm sure you have some more coming up, and one of those appointments SHOULD be with an Optometrist to refract you for new glasses. Incidently, your Medicare WILL cover a pair of glasses (and this is the ONLY time they will cover glasses) when they are needed after cataract surgery. Express your concerns to your doctor at your next visit. Cataract surgery is one of the most common and safest surgeries to have and I'm sure you're just being cautious and there is nothing wrong with that. Just give your eyes time to heal and I am almost ready to guarantee that once you had your post-op refraction and you get your new specs, you'll be good to go.

Answer 4

Can Cataracts Come Back

Answer 5

hi obsolete
as you know have just had surgery so have been doin a bit of readin etc apparently the membrane of the capsule where the implant is inserted can go cloudy and a "simple" laser procedure "cleans" a window in it .
Hope I'm not talkin tommy rot but am almost sure that maybe right

Answer 6

Cataracts can recur. I've never known them to grow back so quickly! The halos can be a sign of glaucoma (elevated pressure in the back of the eye) so I would suggest getting checked by you ophthalmologist ASAP. Glaucoma can develop in people who have had cataract surgery so please set an appointment with your doctor to see what is going on.