Can I have contact lens trial just a week before cataract surgery

[rutheepie]

Dr. Vosoghi has advised me to try contact lens before deciding on the strength of my implant. However I have just been informed that my cataract surgery is to be in about a  week's time! Is it all right for me to go for contact lens trial on my right eye so soon before catract surgery? As mentioned before, my left eye has been operated on and is minus 1.75 but my right eye is minus 5.5.

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Yes.  As long as all measurements have been finalized and all that is left is picking the strenght of the lens.  You have to make sure you have long enough to assess whether the trial is working for you and if you are not sure or have further concerns, don't be shy about postponing the surgery till you and your surgeon are sure.

HV

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Ignore the cataract for the purposes of the contact lens trial.  Shouldn't effect it too much if it is a mild cataract.

HV

[rutheepie]

   Further to my above letter of yesterday (Sunday), mentioning my worry that the cataract nurse may not have measured my eye accurately, I have another concern which I hope you can also help me with. I am now having monovision with contact lens trial in only my right eye ie I have 'perfect' distance vision with my right eye and minus 1.75 with my left eye. This is my first day with it and I am due for the cataract surgery in 4 days time on July 15. However the optician has told me that the cataract in my right eye is NOT that mild and I find this is true as I am not getting perfect vision with my right eye when the contact lens is in. So I am not sure how good a trial it will be for monovision. But I do not feel uncomfy when the right lens is in. do you think that this trial will give me a good idea as to whether I can have monovision? The right eye with the contact lens gives me just a
very slightly better vision than the naked left eye. But with my spectacles, I can see distance well with my left eye and not well with my right eye. However I cannot read small print with my naked left eye and my naked right eye prefers my naked left eye to do the reading.
    The surgeon prefers me to aim for minus 1.75 in my right eye so the 2 eyes balance but this will mean having reading glasses and distance glasses. I was wondering about an alternative  plan of having minus 2.5 in my right eye and therefore not needing reading glasses.  But my dominant eye is my right unoperated eye so is it a good thing to have my right eye more short sighted than my left eye? In short, I could go for minus 1.75 in both eyes, minus 1.75 in my left eye and minus 2.5 in my right (dominant) eye or minus 1.75 in my left eye and perfect distance vision  in my right eye. However here in the UK, cataract surgery is not an exact science so I dont know if I will get what I want.
    I shall be most grateful if you can let me have your comments on my 2 letters - ie yesterday's and today's.

[rutheepie]

I have  had my eye measured for cataract surgery. The nurse who did it for me was continously distracted and I am afraid the measurements may not be accurate. She even ticked the wrong eye for surgery - ticking left eye instead of right and only noticed it later!
Is it possible for mistakes to be made when measuring? Am I worrying unnecessarily?
   Thank you.

[rutheepie]

Thank you very much for all your help.

[rutheepie]

Thank you very much. Will the presence of the cataract in my right eye make it more difficult to have the contact lens? The cataract is not too bad on my right eye and I can still see with my right eye but when I try to read, my left eye prefers to do the reading so I have to read at a distance instead of very near. My 2 eyes do not see exactly the same though!