CONSULTANT OPHTHALMIC SURGEON
CATARACT FAQs
Cataract Surgery
How is Cataract Surgery Performed?
How is the Artificial Lens Chosen?
What About Using Lasers for Cataract Surgery?
What Does Post-Operative Care Involve?
What are the Possible Complications?
CATARACT AND GLAUCOMA
Cataract and Glaucoma
Visual Prognosis
Are Glaucoma Eyes At Increased Risk Of Complication During Cataract Surgery?
Does Cataract Surgery Help Lower IOP?
What About Cataract Surgery And Glaucoma Surgery?
Visual Prognosis
Eyes with established visual loss from glaucoma may not experience as impressive an improvement in vision after cataract surgery as non-glaucoma patients.
This is because the visual loss from glaucoma is irreversible and will remain after the cataract has been removed.
Furthermore, in advanced glaucoma it is possible that the degree of glaucoma damage may worsen leading to deterioration in vision or even loss of vision (wipeout), although the latter is extremely rare.
The prognosis for cataract surgery in glaucoma patients can therefore be considered as guarded.
In most cases there will be a significant improvement but occasionally, if there is very bad glaucoma, the vision may stay the same or very rarely get worse, even in uncomplicated cases.