Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Starbursts & Halo after Lens Implants

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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