Dizziness after Cataract Surgery

Question: My husband had cataract surgery on his right eye about four weeks ago and now complains of light-headedness and disorientation especially in crowds. He says the sight of people moving around makes him dizzy and he cannot look at a TV or computer screen for more than a few minutes. He wears glasses and removed the lens from the right eye of the glasses in hopes that would help but it has not. Is this a common occurrence?


Answer: The dizziness he is experiencing after his Cataract Surgery could be due to many things. Some may be related to the Cataract operation and vision and some may not. A possible cause that has to do with your husbands eyes is related to the difference in prescriptions between the two eyes after Cataract Surgery. The right eye seems to no longer need eyeglasses to see at distance but still will need help with glasses for arm's length (computer) and near vision. The unoperated left eye still has an eyeglass lens for distance and near. Thus there may very well be a considerable difference in the optical focusing between the two eyes as well as the image sizes between the two eyes. This can often happen in between the time one eye has had Cataract Surgery and the other eye is waiting to be done. Usually with Lens Implants of the proper prescription in both eyes after Cataract Surgery the dizziness and disorientation cease. However, you should certainly be sure that there are no other systemic or other health reasons for the dizziness and should consult your primary care physician.

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