I recently had cateracts removed from my right (dominant) eye. Great results, amazing what I haven't been able to see.

In a few weeks, I'll have the other eye done. My question is what sort of lens should I choose for the left eye. The choices are a lens that would focus close (for reading) or one that focuses for distance (like the one in the right eye). If I choose the latter, I'll use reading glasses for close work. If the former, then the theory is that my left eye will take over for close work (reading) and the right will continue to be dominant for longer distances but some depth perception is sacrificed. (this is a system folks sometimes use with contact lanses).

My questions are: has anyone had any experience with either of these alternatives and what is their experience? Any recomendations especially as regards shooting sports?

suggest making them as close to the same as possible.

Ross,

Having gone through this at the age of 32...I would strongly recommend that you have the new lense match your other eye. My left eye has been redone, my right eye cataract is still not bad enough to warrant surgery.

Due to my eye condition, I can speak with some authority that you do not want different lenses in your eyes. I deal with this every day and it is no picnic. The constant going back and forth creates a great deal of eye strain, head aches, blurred vision, watering eyes, double vision at times, etc... Get them the same and you will be good to go. Good luck...wish you the best.

Ross:
I suggest that you speak with your Dr.
There are tests you can do to learn of this would be successful (doing the next eye for reading).
I had both lenses replaced over a two year span. I had the first one done for reading as my job depended upon that...this required me to use glasses for the far distance correction in the unoperated eye.
At the time of my second cataract removal and lens replacement, my Dr. had me look through a variety of devices...and recommended that I could have the second eye lens done for far vision (my dominant and shooting eye)and effectively my brain sorts out the visual fields (this is called monovision...similar to how a rabbit sees)
Tha outcome was great...I have eagle vision for shooting and no problem with reading...no side effects...headaches, etc.
Best,
-Brian

Ross,
I had cataract surgery in 1985. I was 31 at the time. My left eye allows me to read at 12 inches, and distance vision is about 20/30. My right eye can read at about 20 inches, but distance vision is about 20/10. I have had no change in vision in 22 years.
Before the surgery, my corrected vision with very thick glasses was 20/160. Best thing that ever happened to me was cataracts.

I had cataract surgery done on both eyes about 15 years ago and choose the distant eye sight so I could hunt, drive etc without glasses. Worked great I have better than 20/20 in both eyes. Further, I can still read without glasses if I have too, but it is easier with a little help from some cheap reading glasses. I was still working at the time and found this to be a non issue.

My wife just had both eyes done, using the standard lenses. She's very happy with the improvement. A good friend paid quite a bit extra for the "rezoom" lenses and doesn't like them at all.
I'd go with the standard lenses, with the advice of your doctor, of course. This is a big business so don't let them sell you more than you need. JMO, of course.

I'd get the one that can see through clothing.

I have had contacts for 20 yrs ... started out with one for close up and 12 yrs later added the other side for distance. I was amazed at how well it worked. really no effort at all. I did go with lenses that were not as strong as the tests indicated, and
i relied on reading glasses for the really small print. Of course, I could just change contacts if it didn't work out.

Charlie.

Russ; At 66 I had both eyes done one month apart.Having been nearsighted all my life I opted for both eyes the same. I see 20/20 in my left eye,and 20/22 in my right. NOTE I am a left handed shooter, with a right master eye. No problems before or after. The reason for this post is that I had Radial surgery about 5 years before and was told that having the surgery, made it more diffacult to get the correct settings for the cateract surgery. they measured 3 times over a 6 week period before doing it. sfq

My wife has cataracts and has been putting off getting surgery for some time now. She's afraid of facing a painful surgery and recovery, this fear probably goes back to a radial karatotomy(sp) she had done 24 years ago. Can someone here give me an insite into the surgery, is it done under partial or total anesthesia? What is the recovery period like? Maybe I can get her to have it done if some of her fears can be put to rest.
Why do we get cataracts? I noticed several people here were quite young, I thought this was something we faced in our later years. I ask because here I am at 60 with blue (light sensitive) eyes and no cataracts (I had a recent eye exam). Believe me, I'm certainly not complaining, it just seems that if anyone would get them it would be me.
Steve

cataract surgery is light years ahead of 24 years ago. Your wife should not be afraid of painful surgery or long recovery. Both relatively easy. Done with lasers now and almost noninvasive. Disucssion with her Doctor should assuage the fear.

One of the causes of cataracts is exposure to uv light. Sure there are others including genetics.

Thanks guye. I'll be talking to the Dr. tomorrow and get swome more info. You've been very helpful.

My experience with the first cateract surgery was very pleasant. the surgery was done under a local anesthetic (which was induced while I was under a very brief generalanesthesia)and took about 45 minutes. The actual surgery was done under the local. No lasers were involved. The only discomfort was having the nurse stick an IV line in my hand before surgery. I wore a patch over the operated eye for 24 hrs and then nothing. My vision was improved enormously. This was exactly a week ago and the vision continues to improve.

I am aware that there are some new lens' that purport to have a bifocal effect. My doctor won't use them: he tells me they are only second generation products and he has had to remove 9 that were installed by other docs.

At the time I had my implants, I was the youngest person to have the surgery done. The opthomologist that did the work wrote it up for some journal. One year later he did the same for a 17 year old girl.
I had allways had sharp pains in my chest from the time I was 6 or seven. My mother had two sets of twins after me, and thought I was faking to get attention. When I had a severe stroke at 51, the testing found two 1/4" long holes in the wall that separates the left and right chambers of my heart. The surgeon that performed the open heart surgert to correct the birth defects, asked me if I had been told why I developed cataracts at such a young age. I told him I had been told it was from multiple concussions from football injuries. His wife is the head of the opthomology department of a major teaching hospital and determined that my cataracts resulted from the damage caused by 50 years of mini heart attacks left undetected.