Question: I had cataract surgery and
lens implants more than 10 years ago and a few months back I began to see the
car headlights like starburst and traffic signal with a halo around it at night.
A few weeks ago I was told that I have diabetes and my blood sugar reached 500
but is now back to 130. I then decided to go and check my vision and see that I
don't have glaucoma or any damage due to diabetes. My exam was ok with no sign
of diabetes in my eyes, no glaucoma or any type of damage so I asked the eye
doctor what about the lights at night he told me there is a little film that
needs to be clean with laser and that this is normal that I have to go and
clean them up with laser. Is this true?
Answer: It sounds like after many years
of being stable, the thin lens capsule that is left in place to support and
stabilize the placement of the lens implant has become cloudy. This is called posterior capsular opacification or
PCO, and is somewhat common, even for no reason whatsoever. In your case the
extreme metabolic stress you experienced with the onset of diabetes could have
precipitated the clouding. Fortunately if this is the cause of your starbursts
and halo it can be easily treated with a short, painless and non invasive laser
treatment called YAG Laser Capsulotomy. The
results of YAG Laser treatment are typically quick in restoring clear vision to
cataract surgery and lens implant patients. You should discuss having this done
with your cataract surgeon so that you can enjoy improved vision.
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