Floaters after Cataract Surgery

Question: My father had cataract surgery and now has floaters that really disturb his vision. He had cataract surgery about a year ago on both eyes about a week apart and after 3 months he started to have floaters in each eye. Now they are so bad he cannot drive anymore and he says it is like trying to drive in the rain without windshield wipers. This is really affecting his life and the cataract surgeon says there is nothing wrong. Any suggestions or referrals or anything would be helpful.

Answer: Floaters after Cataract Surgery are not terribly uncommon but usually settle down and really do not cause any disturbance in vision. If the presence of the floaters is continuing to get worse it may very well warrant an examination with a Retina specialist who is a Vitreoretinal surgeon in order to rule out any other abnormalities of the peripheral retina and the vitreous that might be contributing to the floaters. There are some conditions of the vitreous that can be particularly annoying but are benign-and there are other potential events that might have left debris in the vitreous. All of these can be carefully considered by scheduling a consultation for a second opinion with a Vitreoretinal Surgeon.

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