Despite the high success rate of cataract treatment surgery, some patients need to be treated for complications after surgery. This article provides an overview of the complications that may occur with age-related cataract (commonly known as senile cataract) surgery.
1. Major complication: blurred vision One of the common risks of cataract surgery is the development of posterior capsular opacification (PCO). It is a blurring of vision caused by partial thickening of the lens capsule (a membrane wrapped around the lens), usually due to the growth of residual lens cells that cover the capsule. This condition is not a cataract recurrence.
The incidence of PCO used to be high, but with improvements in surgical techniques, PCO is now rare after surgery. If PCO occurs, then the patient may need laser surgery. During the procedure, a laser is used to remove the clouded lens capsule, while preserving enough of the capsule to encase the replacement lens.
The procedure takes about fifteen minutes and the patient’s vision returns to normal immediately or within a few days after the procedure. There are no incisions and no stitches, so the procedure does not interfere with the patient’s ability to exercise. After the surgery, patients may sometimes see flying dots in front of their eyes, don’t worry, this is normal.
Other complications The following complications are much less likely to occur and include: eye infection, intraocular bleeding, eye inflammation (swelling, redness), tearing of the lens capsule, partial fall of the cataract lens into the vitreous body, and other eye injuries, such as corneal damage.
Usually, these complications can be cured through follow-up treatment.
Other complications: macular edema Although most of the complications of cataract surgery are not very serious, sometimes patients may experience deterioration of vision or even blindness after surgery. However, this is a very rare occurrence. With the complication of “macular edema”, patients may eventually go blind.
Macular cystoid edema on fundus angiography is common, but it does not always affect vision. It is the clinically significant macular edema that causes vision loss or even blindness, which accounts for about 0.1% to 12%. It may sometimes be treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. There is still a lot of research being done on this.
Do I need to wear glasses after cataract surgery?
The normal human lens is capable of changing shape, and the adjustment of the lens allows us to see near and far objects. However, fixed-focus and multifocal IOLs cannot do this, so you may still need presbyopic or farsighted glasses after surgery if you use these types of IOLs. A statistical study found that 95% of patients with fixed-focus lenses and 68% of patients with multifocal lenses required glasses after cataract surgery.
There is also an adjustable IOL that is designed to give patients better distance and near vision. There is evidence that this type of lens can improve postoperative vision. This technology is still in a mature stage of development.