Cataracts

 

A few years ago, our optometrist in Colorado told us I had a cataract developing in my left eye and that when it got to be a problem I’d need to get it fixed.  Vision in my left eye has been deteriorating noticeably lately, so we made an appointment with an ophthalmologist in McAllen.  (We relocated back to the Valley yesterday for this appointment today, so now we’re back at Sandpipers again.)

 

As I understand it, my kind of cataract could also be described as a cloudy lens.  To fix it, they take out the old cloudy lens and put in a new plastic one.  Not only that, they can build correction into the new lens to improve my vision, even my age-related loss of the ability to focus up-close (presbyopia).  Except for the cataract part, my distance vision is still pretty good.  It barely needs any correction at all, but they can make it better, and with their new lenses, they may be able to correct my close-focus enough that I won’t need my reading glasses anymore either.  I’m a little skeptical about that; I don’t know how they can fix the close-focus without restoring the lost elasticity to my eyes, but they know a lot more about this than I do.  In fact, they swear that fixing the close-focus won’t mess up my outdoor depth perception like bifocals do.

 

This whole cataract lens replacement procedure sounds so good, I wonder why anyone would do anything else.  Why mess around trying to correct a deficient natural lens when you can just take the crummy natural one out and put in a perfect synthetic one?  And the new synthetic lens……it will never get a cataract!

 

Anyway, on a scale of 1 to 4, the cataract in my left eye is a 3, so it’s time to get it done.  The cataract-rating for my right eye is “Trace”, but they tell us when it’s time to do one eye, we should do the other one right after.  (I didn’t really get the reason why; it’s just better.)  The second eye is usually scheduled a week after the first.

 

The cataract surgery is quick, a 20 minute surgery, with a fast recovery, but there are follow-up visits required at a day, a week, and a month.  We might not be able to get both eyes scheduled in time to still be able to make all the follow-up visits before we leave on our summer trip to Colorado, so we might just let the whole thing wait until we come back south in November.  We’ll have plenty of time to schedule both eyes and all the follow-up visits then.

 

They didn’t tell us what the cataract surgery will cost; they just told us it will be completely covered by insurance.  Apparently they can put in a clear lens with no correction and the insurance would cover that too, but go through the cataract surgery and not do that last little bit?  I don’t think so.  That last little bit though, the corrective lenses, will be expensive.  Two lenses: $5,800.

 

My eyes were dilated.  Judy drove me home.