cataract surgery

blanchie · #1 (**permalink**) 12-19-2005, 11:28 PM

the family believes our father-in-law has cataracts since he always complains that he has cloudy or blurry vision, colors of everything he sees seem faded. he is not diabetic though. he is turning 60 next year. we plan to put him in cataract removal surgery. but he has his concerns. who much will it cost us? does it have any complications? do we have any options aside form the surgery? any medicines? thank you for any information about the concern.
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OPTIDONN · #2 (**permalink**) 12-20-2005, 06:34 PM

Well what does the ophthamologist say? Does your Dr. KNOW that he has a cataract? This is something that should be discussed with your Dr.

harrychiling · #3 (**permalink**) 12-22-2005, 12:21 AM

Ophthalmologists will generally rate the cataract according to it's severity, and will only remove it when it is "ripe" or ready to come out. There are complications that are involved after all it is surgery you should schedule a visit to the ophthalmologist and ask these questions, because he/she is the only one qualified to make the diagnosis and treat it.

Pojo · #4 (**permalink**) 05-06-2006, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blanchie

the family believes our father-in-law has cataracts since he always complains that he has cloudy or blurry vision, colors of everything he sees seem faded. he is not diabetic though. he is turning 60 next year. we plan to put him in cataract removal surgery. but he has his concerns. who much will it cost us? does it have any complications? do we have any options aside form the surgery? any medicines? thank you for any information about the concern.

Dear blanchie,

Cataract surgery is a rather common procedure nowadays and generally have few complications. However, these few complications can either be sight threatening or sight damaging up to an including the complete loss of the eye. Although a surgeon who has done thousands will probably less complications, there is no predictable method for determining if your father-in-law won't have a complication.

As a age 60 patient, he is relatively young. Most patients are in the 70's or 80's. Most patients who are in this age group and have disabling cataracts (either economically or task related) should consider cataract extraction on the more severe eye.

The Medicare guidelines are generally followed by most surgeons for all of their cataract patients. If the patient is seeing 20/40 or better, then the cataract is consider visually insignificant and should be observed. However, there are exceptions to this if the person is unable to drive and needs to drive to keep a job; is a relatively active person who is unable to do key activities. Again. there are many exceptions, but the general rule of thumb is still 20/40.

Many surgeons will also suggest spectacle correction first before surgery to ensure that the patient has tried all options prior to surgery. Since cataract surgery is considered an elective procedure, the cautious approach is still the best advice.