Cataracts

[salutz]

Does Vitrectomy surgery for erm trigger a cataract to develop sooner than it would normally in the fellow eye ?

[JodieJ]

Sorry about the misunderstanding.  A vitrectomy would only affect the eye that had the surgery.  It would certainly not hasten cataract development in the other eye.

[salutz]

I am not sure if  you understood my question correctly. I meant does the surgery promote a cataract in the unaffected eye  as well after the vitrectomy surgery.
Thank uou for your responses.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Among retina surgeons there is almost universal agreement that vitrectomy will cause cataracts to develop and grow faster. I do not recall any patient of mine that has not developed cataracts and most have already had surgery.

JCH III MD

[JodieJ]

It absolutely can.  (You can easily research this issue yourself online.)  The reason for the cataract formation is thought to be because a vitrectomy exposes the lens to oxygen.  There has been recent experimentation about ways to prevent this exposure.  However, I'm not aware that it has met with much success to date.