You will worry about it, but there is nothing to worry about. You will be too groggy through the procedure to care what they are doing. The recovery is quick and nearly painless. Post op, for the next few weeks, you will have a lot of drops to put in your eyes and that is the worst part. The benefits are amazing and worth the minor inconveniences.

who is paying how much

get this, there are three tiers, the scalpel, the laser, and some kind if lens implant.

but i'm afraid to tell my wife how bad it is or she would take my car keys.

The lens with the cataract is removed and an artificial one is implanted to replace it, in all cases. The type of lens implanted can vary, but I'm not familiar with all the options.

My ophthalmologist says there are three kinds. A regular lens, which is basically a one for one replacement of your natural lens; a toroid lens, which corrects astigmatism; and a bifocal lens which works like bifocal glasses. The only bad thing I've heard about any of them is people having trouble adjusting to the bifocal lens, just like some people have trouble adjusting to bifocal glasses.

I knew about the bifocal lens, but not the toric one. Very interesting!

needing them to read. I was just too chincy to shell out the extra $5,000.00 at the time for the "premium" lenses.

I wouldn't go by me as far as worry; I hope I haven't increased yours. It's not the procedure itself that concerns me, it's the success rate my ophthalmologist gave me. I need to ask him exactly what he meant by success and non-success, along with a lot of other things. I had gone in thinking it was pretty straightforward and I definitely wanted to have it, so I was taking a bit aback by his stating there was a 10% possibility of a non perfect outcome, and that insurance would not pay for the lens that would correct my astigmatism, and his statement that if I got the regular lens I would have to wear glasses for driving, which I never have. Those are my only issues. At least as far as I know at this point.

He says he highly recommends it. He got the regular lenses not the upgrade and is very happy. Get a recommendation from a doctor you trust.

He said that was a little funky to watch but worth the quick recovery. No pain whatsoever.

My biggest thing, I guess, is paying for the toroid lens. I totally failed to understand why I couldn't still drive without glasses with a regular lens, since I've been driving without glasses with my natural lens all my life.

My surgeon used sedation, and I was very comfortable both during and after the surgery. The worst part was having to put eye drops in several times a day for several weeks. I was able to drive the next day.

I chose the regular lenses that Medicare pays for, on the advice of my optometrist. I also chose to need reading glasses rather than distance glasses, and chose to have glasses with progressive lenses that have the reading prescription on the bottom and just a little astigmatism correction on the top, since I don’t want to have to deal with reading glasses everywhere but where I am.

My ophthalmologist, whom I've been seeing for years and I think is a good ophthalmologist, told me if I got the regular lens corrected for distance I would still have to wear glasses for driving. That made absolutely no sense to me, so I questioned it, and he insisted.

from close reading to driving distance. You should plan on needing glasses for either reading or driving. I chose to need glasses for reading, because although I read a heck of a lot more than I drive, I like being able to see people’s features and expressions from a distance because I have poor facial recognition abilities. This means I need glasses for reading and food prep.

Since I’ve been wearing glasses since age 12, I’m most comfortable with wearing progressive lens glasses all day and not having to put them on when doing close tasks, and searching for them all over the house. I can see things on my floor and make out the pictures on my walls from across the room, and in general feel that my vision is now about what it was in my 30’s.

I really don’t understand your issue any further than this. Perhaps you have astigmatism and will always need glasses to correct that. My neighbor had that issue. Perhaps you’re not understanding his terminology, e.g. “ corrected for distance”. If your ophthalmologist will be doing your surgery, make another appointment to tease out this issue. If a surgeon will be doing the surgery, bring your questions to her/him.

I have natural monocular vision and use one eye for reading and one eye for driving. I have never had to have glasses for either. My vision in my driving eye is 20/40 or better, which seems to be the DMV's limit for driving without glasses. The thing my opthamologist is telling me that is confusing me is that unless I get the toroid lens I will have to wear glasses in the future for driving, specifically for driving. He is telling me that if I get the regular lens Medicare pays for, corrected for driving distance, I will have to wear glasses for driving. Since I have driven all my life without glasses with my natural lens and with my slight astigmatism, it makes no sense to me that I would have to have glasses for driving in the future if my eyes are corrected to be the same or better than they are now, minus fixing the slight astigmatism. I have been going to this ophthalmologist for 10 years and I have been happy with him, but this saying I have to pay for a toroid lens or wear glasses for driving kind of sounds like upselling to me.

is worse than you think it is. I think you should see a different opth or an eye surgeon to get a second opinion and answer your questions.

That I know. Yes, if there's one thing I've gotten from posting my question, it's that I should get a second opinion.

correct my astigmatism. After the surgery I can see well enough to read all but the fine print. The only effect is in my right eye that I sometimes get a few minor floaters.

Or toroid, I can't remember which one it was called. It was tor something.

I don’t know the details. I do know she was thrilled with the results.

wants to wait until they get a little thicker. Says they are easier to remove that way.
Like you I try not drive at night.
Good luck and keep us posted.

which is easy to treat.

For me, cataract removal meant I could see my feet in the shower for the first time, not having to wear expensive and big ole ugly lenses, not needing glasses in rain, etc. I got standard lens, what Medicare covers.

I should have asked more questions at the time, but I went in with my mindset to just haul off and get it done, so that 10% and also the business about having to have glasses to drive if I got the lens that Medicare pays for kind of threw me off. I take that back, it threw me off quite a bit, hence my original post.

Had it done for free with insurance and low income benefits. No pain and no eye drops. They told me not to rub my eyes, but that was like telling a baby not to cry. I can see fine.

most recommended doc in your area. I paid for the lenses that allow me to see far, near, and mid. I don’t need glasses for anything! Was quite nearsighted my whole life. I could not be happier. I was given a little ‘joy juice’ and was in/out during procedure but able to respond to doc when necessary. The drops afterwards are easy to insert. Just pull down on your lower lid a bit and put the drop into the pocket that forms. Then blink several times. Not necessary to tilt head back and hope the drop hits home. Best wishes to you. Do your homework researching the best.doc.

It's his statement about having to wear glasses for driving if I got the lens that Medicare pays for rather than a toroid lens, and his statement that it had a 90% success rate, leaving me worried about the 10% non-success rate. I should have asked him, among other things, what he meant by non success exactly.

I had cataract surgery in my 40s because of a medication injury. You’re awake for it, but you will not care. Versed is magnificent stuff, even just to experience the total lack of anxiety you haven’t felt since age 2. Surgery is quick, and you should be walking out with great vision from the moment you get out of the recovery room.For most people, “recovery” amounts to warming up a bit, feeling regret that the lovely worry-free state is over, and lots of waiting for them to finish paperwork. No pain, but if your surgeon’s single stitch that most put in gets loose, you’ll have irritation and they’ll need to pull it out early. If so, you can’t bend over for a week, which is discouraged anyway. That was my own minor complication.

Biggest risk is YOU not following the aftercare regimen correctly. It’s just restriction on getting water/substances in your healing eye, and doing all the proper eye drops. Easy.

I talked my 91 year old father into doing it, and coached him through it. Easy for him too, he had both eyes done 2 weeks apart. He loved having perfect vision that he’d not experienced since childhood.

Just make sure you choose the best surgeon in town. Any doubts about surgeon or staff, don’t do it, and keep looking for someone you can trust. There are idiot surgeons out there, just like there are great ones, and your highest risk is from a poor surgeon. “Cut rate” or volume practices may be marginally acceptable for eyeglasses, but never for surgeons!

of vision. Went back and he attempted to fix it with laser. The streak was gone but it left a glob of stuff in the eye like a giant floater. Had to go to Indiana Eye institute in Indy. They put three needles in and drained the crappy fluid out and refilled it with a saline solution. Doctor warned me it was a high risk procedure in that the eyeball could collapse. He was one of those great doctors. He saved it.

Second eye was done by a doctor with an assembly line type of operation. In and out of his place in a couple of hours. No problems. Wish I would have had him do the other eye too, of course.

That surgeon in Indy must pull down the big bucks but he deserves it.

That's one of the things I was interested in knowing, what happens if something goes wrong.

Ind Eye Inst doesn’t even do routine cataract surgery. The guy that fixed mine is probably one of a very few in the entire state that even does what he did.

For major stuff never mess around with regional hospitals. Go to a place that has like an IU or Vanderbilt association. Bigger cities are where the top people are.

I watched Patty's right eye cataract surgery on 17 Dec. 2013
(I had both of mine done earlier this year.) They had a small viewing room slightly above the operating room and a window to look in. Couldn't see a thing; too many people around the table. Instead, they had it on a flat screen tv. A giant eyeball with some clamps holding the eyelids open. It had to be the same view the doctor was seeing.
They cut two tiny slits at the bottom and left side of the eye. The LPN said about point two millimeters (maybe it was two mm). Then they put a metal probe in there (sometimes two) with a rounded tip.
Then they smooshed around the organic lens and broke it up into pieces. It had covered the whole eye. They inserted a small (everything is small) hollow tip in there and vacuumed out the pieces of lens until the eye was clear of debris.
Then they inserted a flat, wide probe that had the new synthetic lens. It looked like a vacuum cleaner wand that's wide and thin.
The synthetic lens was folded over like a tortilla shell folded into the center from both left and right.
As soon as it was pushed out of the wand, it started to unfold into a circle.
The doctor used the rounded tip probe to guide it into place and help it unfold.
It does not cover the entire eye like the organic lens did.
He said the pressure of the eye holds it in place.
When I had mine done, the doctor said he put one in that had a focal point of about an arm's reach.
It doesn't take long at all. Some say eight to fifteen minutes.
My first one didn't take long but the second one seemed to drag and I was impatient/anxious for it to be over with. Don't know what made me feel that way.
They numb your eye with some drops and liquids.
One of them burns. You're not too keen on that one.
My anesthesiologist said that they gave me about two beers worth of anesthetic but I couldn't even notice it.
The patient cannot see diddly.
You cannot feel what they are doing and all you see are some bright lights looking down at you.
The place Patty went to did about 33 or 35 cataract surgeries that day. Big bucks for the partners that day.
Plus she had a laser procedure to help fix/lessen astigmatism. That did not take very long either.
She said it gave a little burn feeling in the eye.
It also gave a $1,400 burn feeling in the wallet.
The 'even better' laser procedure would have cost $3,900.
The laser was optional so Medicare does not cover it, of course.
She can tell that her vision is better and the astigmatism is better for the right eye.
Might or might not have the left eye done in six months or so.
.
We get touchy and protective about someone fiddling with our eyes.
.
Just plain FANTASTIC, AWESOME, INCREDIBLE that they can do such things and it's now routine.

patty's second cataract surgery

done on thursday may 08.

came out fine, maybe even better than the first.

she noticed a tremendous improvement the next day.

i watched this one also.
the doctor had to work a little harder on this one.
the cataract was a bit more developed and tougher to break up than the first.

i learned a new tidbit of knowledge about the operation.
the doctor is barefoot.
he sits on a special stool which does not look so special,,, after all, a stool is just something to sit on, right?

the stool has foot pedals. At least two pedals for water and suction and probably a third pedal to push the new, synthetic lens out of the wand into the eye.

he has to use his hands/fingers to control/position the various probes into and around the eye under the outer layer.
if he had to use his thumb or other fingers to control water and suction, the action of the finger movement would also cause the probe to wander.
NOT a place you want a lot of uncontrolled movement!

she says it still came out great and is now only wearing glasses for up-close reading.
she was seeing 20/20 out of the left eye the day after surgery.

this time, she did not have the laser surgery for the astigmatism.
that would have been out of pocket, just like last time.

when she declined the extra laser surgery, the heavy guns sales pressure kicked in.
not quite called foolish but leaning towards it and 'you really should have it done'.

will get an eye exam in about a month for a real prescription but doesn't look like it will be very strong.

coming out great so far!
.
(added later) ---- it seems that the second eye was a little bit tougher because she did not
have the laser treatment done.

Cataract surgery several years later.

Sometimes the artificial lens will develop a haze over it after several years.
It does not happen to everyone.
You can see but not focus.
My right eye had that happen about 5 years afterwards.
The left eye seemed fine. Key word; seemed.
The optometrist could see the haze and after a while it got bad enough that she recommended laser treatment.
The laser treatment is done by a doctor specially trained in the laser.
They dilate your eyes and really, really examine them.
They put a lens about ¾ of an inch deep on your eyeball with some sticky goop.
They hold your head very still and you look into the laser machine.
You see four quadrants of red.
Then she zaps your eye a multitude of times and she keeps zapping until she feels it is done.
She is looking at your eyeball all the while.
Sometimes you feel the zap and sometimes not.
It feels a little bit like a static electric shock when you grab the doorknob.
Not painful but noticeable.
My right eye took 39 zaps. I did not feel any of them.
The left eye took 50 zaps and I felt most of them.
Driving home each time, the eyesight was worthless in that eye.
You might see some floaters for a while.

The left eye seemed fine. Or so I thought.
The optometrist and the laser doctor both were amazed that I was claiming how well the left eye worked. It was not fine. It was just much less bad. It focused pretty well but was deteriorating at a slower rate.
It took about 8 to 10 hours for the right eye to work ok and I could easily tell the improvement.
The right eye was so much better that I could then tell that the left was not up to snuff.

Two weeks later, she did the left eye.
There is no set number of zaps.
It is her judgement call as she is doing it.
They thought the left eye would take less hits because it was not as bad as the right.
Actually it took more hits than the right and it did not take as long afterwards to clear up the vision. Next day – left eye good but not as good as the right yet.

Patty’s first eye hazed over in fewer years than mine. It took 55 hits with the laser.
Her other eye is not so bad so it might be six months or more before they do laser on it.

Supposedly it does not happen again.

It is so gradual that it gets pretty bad before you really notice it.
…

I am very interested in learning what happens if something goes wrong.

Thank you very much for the information.

I had both eyes done and it went very well. Medicare paid for most of it, but I had to pay extra for the correction. Most private insurance will not pay for the correction. Anyway, getting rid of the cataracts is great, really reduces haze and night glare. It's nice to go without glasses when driving, walking, cycling etc but I can't read without "cheaters."

I don't find that particularly inconvenient, since I can still read books and drive without glasses. That's why my ophthalmologist's statement that if I didn't get the toroid lens I would have to wear glasses for driving really got my attention. And I also don't understand that, since I have always driven without glasses with my natural lenses.

I did have to get a yag laser for floaters post surgery. No big deal. Don’t be surprised if you get floaters. Dark specs floating in vision. Easily treated.

excellent outcome

The prep was worse than the actual procedure but important. Get organic eye drops the doctor advises and use them as much as possible. After the procedure, good polarized sunglasses and follow the directions. My eyesight got better over time and now, 14 months later, I’m so happy I had it done and like so many others..I should have done it sooner! The best thing you can do for yourself and best wishes.

I had a great experience. Followed instructions to the letter. I didn’t have pain or anything like that. I got a clear lens. I was struggling with night driving before surgery. The glare is 80% better.

When I was 48 years old. I am now 74 and haven’t had any problems. I was awake for the procedure…. I could hear them talking. There was a three month time span between each procedure. My vision hasn’t changed. I have 20/23 in one eye and 20/25 in the other. I can see well w/o glasses and use them for prolonged periods of reading.

I chose a basic lens, a monofocal, I believe it's called, that has a mid-range. They have the least post surgical issues. No fancy lenses for me. My SIL chose a newer type of lens, so he wouldn't need to wear eyeglasses, and he's had problems ever since.

I wear prescription eye glasses, but you can use simple 'store bought' eyeglasses, if you choose. I don't like taking glasses on and off all day long, so I prefer a prescription lens.

My best advise is to choose a monofocal lens and choose who performs the procedure carefully.
Best of luck!

I don't need it, since I have natural monocular vision, one eye for reading and one eye for driving. The lens I was asking about is a toroid lens, that corrects astigmatism. My opthamologist insisted that if I got the regular lens that Medicare pays for I would have to wear glasses for driving in the future. That continues to make no sense to me, since I've driven without glasses with my natural lens all my life.

assuming reputable doc and facility.

I had 2 eyes done, separated by 2 years, NO PROBLEMs.

I overthink anything that's irreversible as a matter of policy.

I was even wide awake through mine because Versed does nothing for me. But there was no pain.

About a year later, I did have a detached retina and surgery to fix it. It required a fairly long recovery but the eye is great now. The same thing happened to my father, so it may be in our genes.

Get it done, you'll be happy with the results.

Luckily a friend tipped us off to the one all the airline pilots use for their eye surgeries in this part of Central Texas. So I switched. It meant an extra eye exam so he could get familiar with my vision for himself, which pushed it back a little while. I later had a friend who worked in that eye clinic confirm my decision. The doctor I'd started with was not as successful all the time. The one I picked was not only first rate, he has a great personality too.

I had both eyes done a week apart, so quickly and easily that my husband waiting was surprised. I took the correction level that Medicare would pay for. I have considerable astigmatisms in both eyes and the new lenses did not adjust for that. Those would have cost us out of pocket perhaps $500. Don't remember now if that was for both eyes or not.

With the astigmatism not being corrected for, I was offered a choice of having lenses implanted that would correct my vision to far sighted or near sighted, or one of each type of lens. I'd always been very near-sighted so opted for the far-sighted lenses. I read signs sooner while driving, but missed being able to read close up easily. I wonder what it would have been like to do one of each.

The adjustment period sucked since I had astigmatisms. I could see well directly in front of me, but the sides were distorted due to my elongated eyeballs. My eyes got very tired quickly. It took perhaps six weeks for them to settle down so that glasses could be prescribed that corrected for the astigmatism. Readers allowed me to read up close but didn't correct for the astigmatism. What a relief when I got them!

The lenses they implant are not a perfect fit for the one removed and any tissue removed in the surgery. During the healing from surgery, the cornea regrows tissue filling in around the artificial lenses so they stabilize. At least that's how I understood what happens.

I'd had glasses since I was seven and I and my eyes were used to being behind a little protection frfm wind and dust. I couldn't really imagine being comfortable with no glasses. But I've probably spent almost the amount of money now in new glasses that fixing the astigmatism would have cost me.

I had to have the little laser zapping procedure done for the hazing effect too, about two years or so out. No problem at all with it, barely felt it.

This is probably in your reply, so my apologies for missing it. Did you get the regular lenses rather than the toroid, and if you got the regular lenses do you have to wear glasses for driving? That is becoming my main thing, the fact that my opthamologist told me if I got the regular lenses that don't correct my slight astigmatism I would have to wear glasses for driving in the future. Which makes no sense to me, because I've been driving without glasses, astigmatism and all, all my life. I've got no particular objection to the toroid lenses, other than the additional cost and the idea I've got in my head that since they are more complicated they might be more prone to issues. And the fact that I have a suspicion my ophthalmologist is trying to upsell me, even though I've been going to him for over a decade and have been happy.

I have pretty severe astigmatisms. So that is a difference.

I didn't want the debt, even though ultimately it wasn't that bad. Especially factoring in the price of glasses, now on my second pair since cataract surgery. But I had not especially liked being without glasses as a young person when I wore contacts. Dust would blow into my eyes. So I wasn't motivated to be without glasses.

This is helpful information

I'm replying mainly so that I can come back to this thread.

Thanks.

One month apart, no problems.

Settled down well, regular eye drops by the clock - one steroid, the other antibiotic. 2 weeks for the one, a month for the other.

I had laser done about 10 years ago. I'm sure techniques have improved even more since then. I had gotten to the point that even during the day, the glare from headlights was too much. I hadn't driven at night for years.

I went to the eye doctor who had successfully corrected strabismus in two of my daughters eyes, so if he had done a good job with my daughters, I felt I could really trust him.

I had both eyes done, about a month apart, in the fall.

The surgery was a snap. That was some good joy juice I must say! After dealing with lens I was born with, this really, really, really handsome young man walked me to the room where the new lens was inserted. I was a happy woman! I hardly remember anything about the lens insertion. It was over before I knew it.

I'm a quilter, so the first morning after doing the first eye, I opened the closet to my fabric stash, and ended up waking the entire household with my shouts of amazement. The fabric colors were so bright and vibrant! I hadn't realized how muted they had become because cataracts come on so gradually.

It was fall and with the surgery done, it was the most beautiful, beautiful fall I had experienced in years!

Post surgical care was a snap. I was off work about a week for each eye.

Today, I have computer glasses (middle and reading distance), and trifocals for general life, with middle and reading and basically a blank for distance. I can't get used to no line glasses, particularly because there is visual distortion on the edges of the lens and I must NOT have that when cutting fabric.

Insurance at the time did not cover this. Cost was about $4000 I think, but in the end it was totally worth it.

success rate. I chose lens allowing me to see distances and kept my reading glasses
I was completely out and set off monitoring bells when my blood pressure dropped really low and fast. That had happened before with anesthesia
Had follow-up for 'floaters' about a year later. That was done with a laser in about 5 minutes an eye.

I could not read the blackboard in first grade, even though as a short person I was in the front row.

Got my first glasses before 2nd grade. Every single year thereafter I needed new, stronger glasses. Until I got hard contact lenses when i was sixteen. Soft lenses weren't yet there. The deterioration of my vision came to a crashing halt with the contact lenses. That was nice.

I eventually transitioned to soft contacts, which were far easier to wear than the hard ones. And gave me as good vision correction.

Eventually my eye doctor told me it was time for cataract surgery. I was 63, relatively young, but went for it. OMG. Suddenly I could wake up in the morning and SEE. I could look across the room and read the clock on my bureau. Everything was clear. How amazing. So yeah, I need reading glasses to see close stuff, but I'd already been using them for 20 years or more, so no big deal.

It is so wonderful to be able to see. I also understand that cataract surgery is by far the most common surgery in this country, with almost no problems or side effects. So go for it. You won't regret it.

Poindexter, formerly nearly blind, but now can see.