My 84-year old father had cataract surgery on his right eye on 2/4/10. Per his optometrist, vision in his right eye prior to cataract surgery was 20/50. Now, after surgery, his vision in the right eye is 20/80, although they can correct it with lenses to 20/30. His optometrist and surgeon both seemed surprised that his vision was worse, and were unable to explain it. They suggested he see a retina doctor to see if there was a problem with the retina, but the retina dr. said his retinas are great, with no signs of aging. (Thank God) Today we went to another cataract surgeon for a second opinion, simply wanting to know why his vision was worse after surgery. Not only did she not answer that question, she informed me that his vision post-op is BETTER, i.e., 20/30 with lenses. I asked why his vision was worse after surgery, i.e., declining from 20/50 to 20/80, and she informed me I wasn't listening to her, that doctors reference the best attainable vision, which in his case is now 20/30. Which is total BS!!!--she should work in Washington, make a great living telling people black is white and rich is poor. Comparing his vision with the naked eye prior to surgery with vision attainable with glasses after surgery is like comparing apples and oranges. If the dr had simply told me that his post-op vision is within the range of expectation for cataract surgery I could accept that answer. Or if they would acknowledge that they might have made an error and implanted the wrong power lens but there's no way to know for sure, I could accept that too. What I don't appreciate is his surgeon saying he doesn't know why his vision is worse now, and another surgeon telling me his vision is BETTER! I'm disgusted with the whole mess--thank goodness my father is healthy as a horse, because wading throught the lies and doubletalk and evasion in the medical industry is exhausting. 4 post-op office visits later, associated time and gasoline = no information at all.
Think twice, long and hard, before having elective surgery. Even if they tell you cataract surgery is 95% successful, don't do it unless you absolutely must.