Everything looked wavy

[janeaustin]

Right after cataract surgery on my left eye,  everything looked wavy and crooked through that eye.   It has been more than a month and half,  everything still looks wavy and crooked.   New glasses (one for distance;one for reading) did not help.   Anybody has similar experience?   What is the cause of this distortion?

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

A common problem is to develop cystoic macular edema as a result of the cataract surgery.

If you have a retina MD get in to see if you have developed this problem.

JCH MD

[Apparition]

Sorry!   I had the same, after cataract surgery!  My right eye started OK but after weeks things begun to look wavy!    I found it is called Metamorphopsy or Metamorphopsia and it is causee by some wrinking of the retina, mainly near the macular area.   A good test rig is a simple  Amsler grid image.  You can download it just by looking for it at Google.  It is a croos hatched pattern with a dot at the center.  You close the other eye, look fixed at the dot and you will see the distorion patterns arround the dot.
It seems the condition improves after long time.   Mine has gotten much better, with just a very small twisted area near the fovea, but it does impair my reading notably.
I wish doctors would take it more seriously and not just prescribe glasses that will not do any good!
Mike

[janeaustin]

I saw a retina MD before I had my surgery.   He examined my eye and concluded that  I  do not have macular disease.  I also tested myself with the Grid  and  the lines are not wavy.   After the surgery , I start to have wavy vision.   My eye doctor checked my  eye  the day after the surgery and three weeks later, he said the cataract surgery  was fine.  He suggests that I go see a retina MD again.   Is it possible that one  does not have  macular disease but  after cataract surgery  you  may develop macular disease?

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

First you should have an explanation by your surgeon. If he/she can't give you an explanation you need to see a retina MD to rule out macular pathology.

Find a retina MD at www.aao.org

This is NOT normal. Follow through.

Also use Google,  search "Amsler Grid" read about the test, print out a grid and test yourself. If the lines are wavy and crooked it strongly suggests macular disease.

Start making your calls Tomorrow.

JCH III MD