Can Diplopia result from cataract surgery?

[chal29]

I had a cataract removed from my right eye in Nov. 06 and a yag capsulotomy in Feb 07. In the summer of 07, I became aware of visual difficulties that I thought were resulting from my prescription. In the Fall I began to have dizzy  feelings and headaches. The Internist did a neurological and it became clear that I was seeing double on the right side.
Could this be related to the cataract surgery? I also have dry eye and am on restasis. That is my only medication.
Thanks for your help

[chal29]

Thank you for the quick response. I saw my Opthalmologist because my eyes were burning and vision blurry. She said I am having a sever bout of dry eye. She removed me from Restasis, said it didn't seem to be effective and told me to use only non preservative products. I get reading lenses with ground-in prisms tomorrow and will see if they correct my double vision. The cataract in my other eye is a 2 1/2 on a scale of 1 - 10. I am loathe to have it removed at this time. Do you still think I should see a Neuro-Opthalmologist?

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

You can use the search feature, arachives and health topics to review previous detailed discussion of double vision after cataract surgery. It is something I have done extensive clinical research on and the research papers I've published are referenced in previous posts.

If your double vision was due to the cataract surgery it should have show up immediately after the surgery. The time frame from Nov to 06 till the double vision appear in summer of 07 is too long to implicate the cataract surgery.

Some people with a cataract in one eye and IOL in the other have double vision due to failure to fuse the images.

You should be referred to a neuro-ophthalmologist for a complete work up. Find one at www.aao.org or ask your cataract surgeon for a referral.

JCH III MD