Inflammation of the eye

Thank you for your response. Previously I stated that my husband had an "infection" rather than "inflammation" in the eye(s); is there a difference? He has since been diagnosed with iritis; and is being treated with a steroid while he waits for cataract surgery to be performed. This has been ongoing since 2006 when he saw the doctor for redness and pain in one eye. Thank you again for your kind consideration.

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

Yes it does make a difference.  If he has a history of ongoing chronic iritis, he needs to see a uveitis specialist.  I would be concerned that his eye will have significant inflammation after cataract surgery that will have a potentially negative effect on the outcome of the surgery.  For my chronic iritis patients, I wait till their eye is free of inflammation for 3 full months prior to scheduling cataract surgery and also place them on systemic steroids (pills) a few days before the surgery to prevent such problems.  If he hasn't seen a uveitis specialist though, I would get that second opinion first to make sure all that needs to be done is done prior to surgery (blood tests to see why he has the inflammation, whether there is scarring in the eye, etc.)

HV