Cataract surgery risks 

Fewer than two per cent (1) of patients have serious complications and most of these can be treated:

  • Tearing of the back part of the lens capsule with a disturbance of the lens inside the eye can sometimes result in reduced vision
  • A thickening of the lens casing (the part of the eye that holds the lens in place). If this occurs, it can be easily corrected using laser treatment
  • Bleeding inside the eye
  • Loss of all or part of the cataract into the back of the eye. If this occurs, you will need a further operation

Other problems

Some problems can happen months or even years after your operation. Around one in five people get a condition where the tissue around their new lens turns cloudy. This can be treated with laser surgery.

A small minority of patients can get a detached retina. This is extremely serious and you will need another operation straight away.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism can also be a side-effect of cataract surgery. The condition is caused by an irregular-shaped eye, where the front of the eye has an oval curvature. The healing of the eye after surgery can also give rise to astigmatism, especially in extracapsular extraction (where the lens is removed in one piece through a larger incision). When the surgeon calculates the best intraocular lens to use in the eye he can only correct for long or short sightedness, not for astigmatism. Those patients with astigmatism may still require distance spectacles after surgery.

Other possible but rare complications:

  • Bruising of the eye or eyelids
  • High pressure inside the eye
  • Clouding of the cornea
  • Incorrect strength of the implant
  • Detached retina - this may need further surgery
  • Infection - if the eye starts aching, or becomes red or sore, you must seek medical advice
 

Ref:

  1. RNIB
 
 

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