Focusing Issue after Cataract Surgery

[TennisJack]

I had cataract surgery (monofocus) in one eye in late January. After 6 weeks, I now have new prescription lenses for both eyes, which are 3.25 diopters different. I am a regular and quite good tennis player, and I am having great difficulty playing as well as I was accustomed. The best way to discribe the problem is that I am having trouble focusing on moving objects. I can see very well at a stationary scene, but am getting hit by balls that I used to hit well. Is this a condition that I will get used to over time, or is the imbalance between the focal lengths in my eyes beyond the limit that the brain can adjust to? If I am forced to give up tennis, at my age, I will probably never regain it, and it will limit my options for getting exercise. My insurance will not approve getting the other eye done until my vision is bad enough in that eye.

[JodieJ]

Whether or not your insurance will pay for your second eye surgery depends on what your surgeon writes on the claim form.  If you are unable to fuse the difference in your prescription, that seems to me to be a good reason to have your second eye done now.  If your surgeon tells you that your insurance won't pay for your second eye yet, you might consider consulting a different (and more sympathetic) surgeon.

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

You cannot fuse the difference in your prescription.  This should have been discussed with you prior to surgery.  I usually, ask the patients in you situation to wait until the better eye get worse of wear a contact lens after surgery.

Dr. O.