CATARACT SURGERY
DETAILS and COMMENTS

 
 
Zero hour arrived
My cataract was to be replaced with an IOL
 
 

The lens that viewed every event in my life was soon to be removed and vision restored. It was bittersweet because I felt partially responsible for the cataract due to my FOV months ago. Yet I reminded myself that my PVD two years ago was the actual cause. If I had left things alone and let nature take its course I would still one day get cataracts -- have surgery -- and spend the rest of my life bothered by floaters. I made the empowered decision to get a FOV knowing I would need CATARACT SURGERY one day.

My surgeon reminded me it was good to be getting an IOL in 2026. He said for decades surgery was only based on RESULTS. The advanced techniques today concentrate on OUTCOMES. Well my desired outcome was matched binocular 3D clarity, seeing the world with no glasses, and driving a car with off-the-shelf sunglasses.

MY CHOICES
  • J&J EYHANCE EDOF Toric II. Set to plano.
  • FLAC (Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract) procedure.
  • ORA (Optiwave Refractive Analysis) after the lens was removed.

SURGERY DAY
After I was dilated I was taken to a room for the FLAC procedure. Lying on a table I stared directly at a red dot while a bright mobius pattern danced across my eye for about 1 minute. It seemed like nothing happened but the laser had quietly performed limbic incisons, a capsulotomy, and broken up the lens in one quick procedure(!) The result was that walking to the OR my eye was very blurry with a faint mozaic pattern which made sense given what the FLAC had just done. There was no going back now!

On the OR table I was given mild IV sedation to remain conscious so I could respond to directives from the surgeon. After a few minutes I saw the new lens going in as the room became clearer. Three grainy black circles appeared in front of my vision which slowly sharpened -- which I believe was the toric being rotated for correct axis. Afterwards I was wheeled back to the changing room. An eye patch wasn't needed but I kept my eye closed on the drive home. Partially because I was still dilated but also because I was worried the IOL would show odd geometry or some sort of unnatural look and I wanted it to settle.

BACK HOME
My first serious look at the inside of my house revealed that my worrying about a lens having an odd look was unfounded. It simply looked like I was wearing a quality contact lens(!) The EDOF design showed no zones or gradients and textures of the couch, walls, and branches on the trees outside were highly detailed. Details were very sharp and colors had a vibrancy and ‘pop’ equal to my glasses.

With my brownish lens gone, hues took on a slight bluer shift as expected, with a fresh, clean look. Honestly, I cant remember ever seeing this clearly. One surprising change was the gas burner on my stove. it danced with vibrant purple and varied range of blues, almost like a stained glass window. I never saw these shades before. My natural eye which I had thought saw white normally had a slightly muted, tan hue by comparison, it was almost funny. After marveling over the clarity something occured to me: having a Core FOV months ago helped enhance the clarity of the IOL since the space between the lens and the retina was clearer(!)

The next test was NEAR FOCUS. Up close I was expecting a dense blur from all the scare stories I had read online. But it was almost exactly like wearing a contact lens. In the past when wearing contacts I used to strain when details got closer than about 18”. With the IOL details also began getting slightly strained at 18" but I didn't find it unmanageable. I am able to use my phone at arms length for basic things and life seems normal. With a -2.50 contact in my good eye all I did was buy pair of +1.50 readers. Honestly, I laughed at all the anxiety and worry I had been experiencing for months.

In the dark on bright sources like street lights and headlights I do get a small diagonal flare at a 45 degree angle but this seems to be diminishing each day. I did have a few new floaters and a dark one in central vision was unexpected and very annoying. But by the 3rd day the central speck had moved away and the others dissipated or mostly faded. At the 10 day mark I have only one speck that crosses vision on occasion. I don't expect perfection but there's one thing that months of floaters and a cataract prepares you for: How to endure visual anomalies.

CONCLUSION


This journey from PVD-Floaters -->FOV -->Cataract surgery took one year and seven months. For me, it was completely worth it and the once-frightening mysteries of FOVs and cataracts seem almost boring now.

I will be getting an FOV in other eye soon. And after healing I will get an identical IOL set to plano. The ENDGAME will be two floater-free eyes with matched, crystal-clear 3D vision. At this point I am both pleased and optimistic.

 


Datsunzgarage.us © 1997-2026
All comments are anecdotal only. This is not medical advice.
Datsun is a registered trademark of Nissan ®