No, there is no pain during a cataract surgery as local anaesthesia is given before the procedure. Some patients may also be given sedation to relax them. The surgery is usually completed in 15-20 minutes per eye with minimal discomfort.
A protective eye shield is placed over the operated eye and the patient is able to go home after 2-3 hours of rest in the ward.
Typically, the whole stay from the time of admission to discharge is 6 hours. The cataract surgery is done as a Day Surgery case.
The patient should be accompanied home and not to drive on the day of surgery.
[:en]Your vision will be blurry for the first day. Most patients are able to resume most daily activities the very next day. We recommend 1 week’s rest before returning to work.
It is not unusual for some patients to be able to drive or work on the computer on the day after a cataract surgery. Looking at the computer and reading are unlikely to affect the healing of your vision. The most important things are to instill the eye drops as prescribed by the doctor and not to rub the eyes for the first month.[:zh]Your vision will be blurry for the first day. Most patients are able to resume most daily activities the very next day. We recommend 1 week’s rest before returning to work.
It is not unusual for some patients to be able to drive or work on the computer on the day after a cataract surgery. Looking at the computer and reading are unlikely to affect the healing of your vision. The most important things are to instill the eye drops as prescribed by the doctor and not to rub the eyes for the first month.[:]
Cataract surgery is a medical treatment and therefore the usage of Medisave and/or Medishield plans are approved. On the day of surgery, it is important to inform the Hospital Admission regarding the coverage that the patient prefers to utilize.
If the patient is using the Medisave of a next-of-kin, the person whom account is to be used must be present to sign a letter of authorization.
The amount approved for Medisave deduction is $2450 per eye (Surgical table 4A).
Yes, the doctor typically issues an MC for hospitalization leave of 2-4 weeks for you to rest after the cataract surgery.
Typically, cataract occurs in the age group of 60 years old and beyond. The severity of the lens opacity determines when a patient requires a cataract removal.
Occasionally, people in the younger age group may also develop a cataract. This can be due to autoimmune inflammatory diseases or trauma to the eye.
Yes, a patient can gain glasses independence with the use of the correct type of intraocular lens implant (IOL).
Generally, the types of IOLs available are the monofocal, monofocal toric, multifocal and multifocal toric IOLs. The doctor will discuss on the options of IOLs which may suit the specific eye conditions.
Yes, a cataract surgery can still be performed as per normal. The difference is in the calculations of the correct dioptre (power) of IOL to be implanted for a post-LASIK eye.
You should retain the pre- and post-LASIK parameters to enable your surgeon to calculate the IOL accurately. Nonetheless, recent developments of more advanced formulas can also give similarly accurate calculations even without the pre-LASIK parameters.
You should inform your doctor of any previous laser refractive surgery done (LASIK, epi-LASIK, RK, PRK, etc.)
If you previously have had retinal laser treatments for retinal holes/degeneration, it is still possible to undergo a cataract surgery. Similarly, if you are on glaucoma treatments/medications, this will not prohibit you from undergoing a cataract removal.
Once the cloudy lens is removed and is replaced with an IOL, a cataract can never recur.
Lee Hung Ming Eye Centre
