Halos & Dry Eye after Cataract Surgery

Question: I had cataract surgery on me left eye over a year ago and was experiencing dry eye, foreign object feeling, and night time halos within a few days after surgery. I had the right eye surgery done a few months later after being reassured by my doctors' partner that the chances of having the same problems on the second eye were slim to none. He performed the 2nd surgery and that eye is perfect. I am using Pilocarpine drops on the left eye every time I need to drive at night to reduce the size of the partially dilated pupil to eliminate the halos. I still have dry eye as well. Is there a fix for these problems? Also, what may have caused the problems?

Answer: It is not possible to comment on why your pupil is partially dilated after Cataract Surgery without really examining the eye and also understanding what particular complication or complications occurred during the Cataract procedure. That said, if the Pilocarpine is producing satisfactory results, it would be prudent to continue to follow your Cataract Surgeon's prescription and instructions. Dry Eye symptoms after Cataract Surgery are known to occur in 30% or more of patients, thus what you are experiencing is not terribly uncommon. Depending on the reason for the dry eyes, your Cataract Surgeon has a pretty good "tool box" of treatments to select from, including specific artificial tear eye drops, insertion of tiny tear duct or "punctal" plugs to help retain more tears in your eyes and prescription eye drops called Restasis® to help you actually make more of your own natural tears-or even a combination of these treatments.

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