Sometimes blurred vision is caused by PCO, a fairly common complication that can occur weeks, months, or (more often) years after cataract surgery. It occurs when the lens capsule, the membrane that holds the new intraocular lens in place, fogs up or wrinkles and begins to blur the vision. It can also cause more serious problems, such as bleeding and swelling. You may need surgery to put it back in place or to put a new one.
It's rare, but during surgery, the blood vessels that supply the retina may start to bleed for no reason. A little blood isn't a problem, but larger amounts can cause vision loss. Swelling, bleeding, or leftover fragments of the lens can cause increased pressure on the eye, which can cause glaucoma. Photopsy, or seeing flashes of light or floating bodies, occurs when the gel inside the eye separates from the retina.
This is a natural process and symptoms usually go away within a few months. In extreme cases, surgery that replaces the gel, called vitrectomy, can remove these floating cells. Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) Other possible side effects of cataract surgery range from mild eye inflammation to severe vision loss. Advances in surgical technology and techniques have led to high success rates of cataract surgery around the world.
During surgery, the cataract is removed from the capsule and a synthetic intraocular lens implant is inserted into the capsule instead of the cataract. In most cataract surgeries, the intraocular lens is placed inside the capsular pouch, which contains the eye's natural opaque lens, or cataract. The vision went wrong. I had surgery for cataracts and was told that I was the perfect candidate because I already had monofocal contact lenses.
Statistics suggest that the lifetime risk of retinal detachment as a complication of cataract surgery in the United States is about 1%. Other possible side effects of cataract surgery range from mild eye swelling to severe vision loss. In the case of retinal detachment after cataract surgery, the surgery will most likely be a vitrectomy procedure combined with laser and oil or gas injection. A study with more than 221,000 patients who underwent cataract surgery showed that 99.5% of patients had no serious complications after the procedure.
If you have recently had cataract surgery and are concerned that you may have developed any complications, see your eye doctor without delay. Only laser treatment is required to permanently eliminate vision loss caused by opacification of the posterior capsule after cataract surgery. When cataract surgery complications occur, most are minor and can be successfully treated with medications or with additional procedures. People whose vision doesn't improve after cataract surgery often have underlying eye disorders, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other eye conditions.
Infections after cataract surgery are rare, but if you have one, you'll get an injection of antibiotics in your eye. In some cases, PCO can occur because some of the old cells from the cataract are not removed during surgery. If you're interested in learning more about the details of the complications of cataract surgery, below are a selection of books and other articles that you may find useful.
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