Cataract Surgery & Astigmatism Correction

Question: I had the cataract removed from my right eye and have 20/20 vision in the right eye. My left eye does not have a cataract but has astigmatism requiring -4 prescription. Does it make sense to consider removing the lens in my left eye to achieve 20/20 vision in both eyes.


Answer: While you state that you do not have a Cataract in your left eye, depending on your age you may develop one in the foreseeable future as the presence of Cataracts is quite common as we age. As your right eye Cataract Surgery and lens implant was so successful as to provide you with 20/20 vision, it is unfortunate that unless you do something to the astigmatism in the left eye you will need to wear eyeglasses to see clearly with that eye. It would certainly be convenient and hassle free not to be dependent on glasses for seeing at distance. There are really two options that you might wish to consider to be independent of glasses for seeing at a distance.

First, if there is ABSOLUTELY no evidence of a Cataract even beginning to form, and your eye and tear film are otherwise healthy, you could consider LASIK to correct the astigmatism in the left eye. Second, more and more people are indeed opting to have vision correction with lens implants-in your case using an astigmatism correcting toric lens implant-with a lens removal would also give you another option for vision correction AND would thus eliminate the need to ever be concerned with or have the need for a Cataract Surgery in the left eye as there would be no natural lens to cloud. This is something you should review with your Cataract Surgeon as it might make good sense.

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