Cataract FAQs
Our highly educated staff as well as the physician, will be able to inform you of all the lens options available and be able to tell you which options will best suit your eyes and your desired outcome. Meanwhile check out the “Lens Options” button under the Cataract section on our webpage to see all the lens options we offer.
The Advance Technology Lenses do have some out-of-pocket cost but our schedulers will be able to talk to you about the cost, they specialize in that and our financing options.
Cataracts typical start around age 50.
Insurance will most likely cover your cataract surgery and a basic lens implant, but insurance does not cover the advanced technology lenses or laser cataract surgery.
At the time of your appointment, you should have received a drop schedule in your folder. If you have lost or cannot find this, a good rule of thumb is to take your surgery drops as well as over the counter artificial tears 4x a day each 5 minutes apart.
Astigmatism is when your cornea, or front window of your eye, is shaped more like a football rather than a basketball. This is why your vision may be blurry.
During cataract surgery your eye will be completely numbed with potent eye drops to ensure your surgery is painless. Some patients do report feeling a slight pressure sensation, but you can be assured you will feel no pain during your surgery. After cataract surgery, it is very common to have a foreign body sensation or a “sand or gritty” feeling in the eye, this is part of the natural healing process and typically only lasts 24 hours.
Typically, cataract surgery is done one eye at a time.
A second eye can have surgery typically one to two weeks apart.
Yes, you will have to have someone there to pick you up from surgery. The doctor cannot perform the surgery unless you have a friend or family member there to drive you home. An uber or taxi cab is not allowed.
Some patients feel fine to drive themselves to the next day’s follow up appointment, but since you may be still dilated you might want to plan to have someone drive you.
Most patients feel fine the next day and can return to normal activities within a couple of days.
Yes, cataract surgery can be performed after LASIK. In fact, cataract surgery can be performed after any type of laser vision correction procedure, including LASIK, PRK, Epi-LASIK and LASEK. Multack Eye Care has the latest technology to help with these calculations. LASIK and other types of laser vision correction alter the curvature of the front surface of the eye (cornea). Therefore it’s helpful if you can give your cataract surgeon the records of your eye exams that were performed prior to your laser procedure.
There are several ways modern cataract surgery can correct astigmatism. One option is to replace the eye’s cloudy natural lens with a special type of premium intraocular lens (IOL) called a Toric IOL that corrects some or all of your astigmatism leaving you with less dependency on glasses. Another option for people with low amounts of astigmatism is to have Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery to gently relax the cornea and provide clear vision.
Yes, typically you are awake during cataract surgery. This eliminates risks associated with general anesthesia and enables your cataract surgeon to communicate with you during your procedure. If the idea of being awake during cataract surgery concerns you, fear not — you will be given oral medication or an IV before the procedure, so you are fully relaxed and feel no discomfort. You will not see or feel any instruments during the procedure.