Cataract Surgery Visual Field Loss

Question: My 84 year old father had cataract surgery one week ago. He is in excellent health and takes no medication of any kind. He is not overweight and only started to wear reading glasses about 5 years ago. After the surgery, at next day follow up visit they said all was well. He has been back to the doctor 3 times since the surgery and sent him home with a change in antibiotic drops. Now when he covers his eye that had not been treated and uses the eye that was worked on he has a line of vision only of half of the area he is looking at. When the bad eye is covered he has full vision of the room.. When the eye doctor tested his eye they did not seemed concerned and "think" it will clear up. Should I be concerned and seek a second opinion.


Answer: In general visual recovery after Cataract Surgery and Lens Implantation is fairly quick. By one week after surgery in an uncomplicated Cataract operation in an otherwise healthy individual it it is typical to have rather good vision at distance although perhaps not as clear and crisp as when the eye is totally healed. That said, the vision you describe whereby one half of the visual field is missing is not typical or expected and needs to be verified, examined and explained. There are a number of reasons for this to occur-some of which have to do with the Cataract Surgery and others that have nothing to do with the eye surgery or eye health at all. Your next step is to certainly ask for an explanation from your father's Cataract Surgeon that is satisfactory for both you and your father to understand. If you do not get one, then it is totally appropriate to seek a second opinion from the best Cataract Surgeon you can find. This may be worthwhile even if you get a decent answer as seeking a second opinion is often a responsible healthcare choice.

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