Blurred vision after posterior capsulotomy?

My mom is 65 and had cataract surgery with the implantation of a Toric IOL lens.  6 weeks after surgery she had the posterior capsulotomy performed due to blurry vision.  Now a week after that surgery, she still has blurry vision.  She is being sent for a second opinion to Wills Eye in Phila to see why she is still having difficulty with her sight.  What could be the problem?  Thank you.

[cwatt1]

Wills Eye is just about the best there is and they should be able to come up with a reason.  If it is related to the lens, a couple of thoughts come to mind:

1.  The IOL is the wrong power
2.  The IOL orientation is off or has shifted, so that your mom's astigmastism is not entirely eliminated.

[cwatt1]

Wills Eye is just about the best there is and they should be able to come up with a reason.  If it is related to the lens, a couple of thoughts come to mind:

1.  The IOL is the wrong power
2.  The IOL orientation is off or has shifted, so that your mom's astigmastism is not entirely eliminated.

[1sherwood]

if she blinks a few times, her vision clears up momentarily, but then gets blurry again.  Does that tell you anything?

[cwatt1]

It could be a case of dry eye, which sometimes occurs after cataract surgery.  Ususally that clears over time, but your mom may want to try artificial tears to see if that helps.  If not, Wills Eye will probably have other treatments for it such a Restasis and/or punctal plugs.

[cwatt1]

I should have mentioned that your mom's issues coulod be related to something besides the IOL or dry eye -- I imagine her ophthalmologist would have checked for those things.  In any event, your mom can't be in better hands than at Wills.

[1sherwood]

Thanks for your thoughtful response.  I just asked her and they did do a green dye test for dry eye which they ruled out.  Thanks for the encouraging words about Wills.

[1sherwood]

Just wanted to tell you what Wills said.  Basically the surgery was performed properly, and it's not an exact science.  There are no 100% guarantees and the dr. should not have made that clear.  If the lens if off by a hair it could cause vision disturbances.  They would not recommend removing or replacing it due to the risk of infection or retinal detachment.  So it's basically as good as it's going to get.  She is heartbroken.

[cwatt1]

I'm sorry to hear that.  Hopefully your mom will be able to obtain a prescription for eyeglasses that will help with the blurriness.