This month Glen and I celebrate a year of cataract free vision. It’s embarrassingly cute that we both required cataract surgery in our eyes at the same time. And the same ophthalmologist operated twice on each of us on the same days last year. Given our ages, however, it seems we’re rather typical.
Cataracts are common among seniors as a leading cause of vision loss. Fortunately, our generation benefits from advances in treatment. In the ’70s cataract surgery took an hour, required hospitalization of one to three days, was reserved for the worst cases, and entailed significant risk. Now ophthalmologists perform this 10-minute procedure in outpatient surgery centres, safely, on anyone with clouding of the eye’s lens.
Vision impairment from cataracts can affect our ability to perform daily tasks. Colours become muted; reading and driving, especially at night, can become difficult. Our tennis and golf games might suffer as we view the world through a cloud or fog. (That errant shot? Blame cataracts!)
We’re favoured to need cataract surgery in a first world country. According to the WHO, cataracts cause blindness in 20 million people in developing countries because they lack access to surgery.
THE TREATMENT
- An optometrist will detect cataracts during your annual (!) eye examination and then send you to an ophthalmologist to discuss the options based on your vision goals. Get rid of glasses, for instance? Monofocal lenses will give crisp vision at one particular distance; other replacement options can treat multiple eye conditions at once.
- For the surgery, you administer various eye drops before and after the procedure — to numb the eye, reduce inflammation and prevent infection.
- The surgeon applies local or topical anesthesia, removes the eye’s cloudy natural lens, and then surgically replaces it with an intraocular lens.
- In our procedures, the surgeon used ultrasound to break up the lens, sucked the fragments up into a tiny probe, and then inserted the new lens. In recent years, lasers similar to those used in LASIK procedures have also been used for cataract surgery.
- Premium replacement lenses that correct for astigmatism or farsightedness likely come at a cost, depending on the provincial health insurance plan. We both opted for monofocal lenses, which are free in BC.
THE TESTIMONIAL
A friend Gerry Kordoski writes, “My optometrist said my cataracts were progressing at a normal rate, until 2019. Within one year my loss of vision was noticeable. I was referred to Dr. Climenhaga, considered one of the best ophthalmologists in Edmonton. Following an efficient examination, the booking agent said my waiting period would be four to six months. And six months later I reported at 6:45 am to Westview Hospital in Stony Plain. The surgery was over quickly, with no pain, just a brief enjoyable light show. Within hours my vision was clearing, and the new reality was incredible. I never had this strong a view of the world. Six weeks later the well-oiled team conducted the second procedure. After saying goodbye to glasses of 60 years for distance correction, I felt undressed. But the feeling passed, and now I live with terrific results.” •
P.S. Johnny Nash was in his early 30s, recovering from cataract surgery, when he wrote the 1972 chart-topping hit I Can See Clearly Now.
J Grant McPhail says
It’s good to know what may lie in my distant future when I’m your age!😊
Pam McPhail says
An American friend claims two good things about aging: Medicare and cataract surgery. As a Canadian you already benefit from the first and the second … time will tell!
Catherine McCallum says
I too benefited from cataract surgery in one eye five years ago. Unfortunately my other eye’s cataract isn’t “ripe” enough for surgery, whatever that means!
Pam McPhail says
In your ophthalmologist’s terminology, Glen had an overripe cataract in one eye, his other eye and mine were just ripe. Sounds odd, doesn’t it?
TIM MCPHAIL says
Your post sparked a memory for me. The first song we played when I was a wannabe hippy and sharing my first joint was ” I can see see for miles ” by The Who. I actually thought I had super vision.
Laser and ultrasound treatments hadn’t even been used on the eyes yet. However, pot opened The Doors of Perception.
BTW, Don’t tell my grandson about the stuff I did !!
Tim
Pam McPhail says
Stories of your antics are safe with me,Tim. I didn’t even report them to mom and dad at the time!
Chris Krueger says
It IS cute!
Pam McPhail says
Yeah, kinda. Efficient for sure!
Glen Wickens says
Monofocal lenses mean you will likely need reading glasses for close viewing. I chose to go on wearing glasses but with new graduated lenses that allow for both distance and close viewing.
Ken McLean says
Thank you for sharing the info on cataract surgery Pam. I am currently on a waiting list for a consultation, which I was informed they are supposed to give me by the end of January (translating: “the date of your rdv should be communicated to you within 3 months”). As far as I am aware I don’t experience any muting of colours, but my night driving vision is atrocious and I need an illuminated magnifying glass to read the paper or any book with normal or less print size. I’m very pleased to learn that the operation will be so brief and painless.
Pam McPhail says
Glen initially joined a waiting list in Vancouver of well over a year long, but my clinic in North Vancouver treated us both shortly after detection of the cataracts. Lucky us. One shared symptom: seeing a halo effect around lights, especially at night. Hope your new lenses improve your reading experience, Ken, voracious reader that you are. We still use glasses for that.
Ken McLean says
Thanks Pam. E-Books have saved my reading: 90% of it is now on my Tablet or Kobo reader.( there is also the instant delivery and much reduced prices going for them). I too get the halos at night, around any light(particularly effective with a full moon). I also used to get major psychedelic effects with kilometre markers, like butterflies, and the lane lines would split off in two directions; prism lenses did modify these effects. Congratulations on getting such effective treatment.