One of the most common complaints we hear from our post-cataract surgery patients is that their near vision has gotten worse. While this can be frustrating, it’s important to understand that there are a number of reasons why this may be the case. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the top reasons why near vision may be worse after cataract surgery.
Near Vision Worse After Cataract Surgery
- The patient elected to have monovision near vision worse after cataract surgery correction. Monovision correction is when one eye is corrected for distance vision, and the other eye is corrected for near vision. This can often lead to reduced quality of vision at both distance and near. If you elect to have monovision correction, you may want to consider talking to your doctor about changing your prescription.
- The patient has astigmatism. Astigmatism is a condition in which the eye of a patient does not focus the light equally onto the retina, resulting in blurred or poor vision. If you have astigmatism, your doctor may recommend that you wear glasses or contact lenses for the best vision.
- The patient has presbyopia. Presbyopia is a condition that typically affects people over the age of 40 and results in difficulty reading close up. It is a natural part of the aging process and cannot be cured. However, there are various treatments available to help improve reading vision, including glasses, contact lenses, and reading surgeries such as monovision LASIK or conductive keratoplasty (CK).
- The patient’s new glasses prescription is not correct. It’s not uncommon for patients to need a slightly different glasses prescription after cataract surgery due to changes in the eye’s lens power as a result of the removal of the cataract. If you find that your new glasses are not giving you clear vision, make sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor so that they can adjust your prescription accordingly.
- The patient’s eye muscles are not working together properly yet. After cataract surgery, it can take some time for your eye muscles to learn how to work together again in order to produce clear vision at all distances—this process is called binocular summation. During this time, some patients may experience blurry or double vision, which will typically improve within a few months as binocular summation occurs. If you are experiencing persistent blurry or double vision after cataract surgery, please schedule an appointment with your doctor so they can rule out any other possible causes.
Conclusion
If you’re experiencing reduced quality of near vision after cataract surgery, it’s important to understand that there are a number of possible explanations for this phenomenon—some of which can be easily remedied while others may just require a bit of time and patience on your part. However, if you find that your near vision problems are persisting or interfering with your everyday activities, do not hesitate to reach out to your doctor for help in addressing the issue so that you can find a solution quickly!