Day 3 after RLE - distance vision not improving

[tahoekid]

I had LASIK on my left eye a year ago, and can see fine in the distance. My right eye has 'irregular shaped' cornea and the surgeon did not want to consider LASIK for the right, but suggested Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE). So I went ahead with this, choosing Staar nanoFlex IOL. My goal was distance to intermediate - I do not care if I need reading glasses.

Anyway, to the point. The procedure was done 3 days ago. I am able to read and see clearly up to about 3 feet, but distance vision is not very good - license plates at 50 feet are barely readable. I read where distance vision improves each day after surgery, but I'm not seeing any improvement since the procedure.

I see nighttime glare off lights outdoors, and weird flickering in right quadrant - which I suspect is from the edge of the lens throwing light that I'm not used to - looks sort of like pebble in water distortion for a fraction of a second when I move my eyes in bright light.

My main issue now is with the distance vision, and if I'm being too impatient.

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

You need to be seen again by your surgeon and find out why you are having this problem.  PRK may not be the answer.  If your surgeon does not give you a satisfactory solution, do not hesitate to seek another opinion.

[tahoekid]

Also I discovered the weird flickering happens only when both eyes are open in bright light. If I close my untreated eye, I cannot detect the flickering. So this has to be some 'synch' issue with the new lens, and I have noticed the more time I spend outdoors, the less noticeable it is. It's likely one of those things that the brain adjusts for.

[tahoekid]

I doubt it has anything to do with the lens itself. It might be incorrect 'power' lens.

On the positive side, I no longer need reading glasses. For the first days 1-4, I could see large glares off lamps outdoors at night. Since I have an untreated eye, I could do a "before, after, before, after" by just swapping eyes, so it was obvious. Now I am on day 10 and the glares are all but gone, maybe a hint. My night time driving is great, no more 'doubles' on tail lights.

My research shows that getting the right Rx power lens is important, not just the brand.

I will post again here after my follow up with the surgeon in about 10 days.

[mira221]

I am considering the nanoflex in both eyes without having cataract.
Your post is making me wait and see more patients' opinion on nanoflex.
I truly hope this is just a phase and your eyes will adjust.
Please continue to keep us posted. Thanks.

[tahoekid]

Now on day 5, distance vision actually getting slightly worse. I guess I will need PRK in six months to fix this.