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Rikkitic

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#240069 18-Aug-2018 22:12
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I just learned that I need to have cataract surgery within the next year. What can anyone tell me about this, both publlc and private?

 

 





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Linux
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#2075525 18-Aug-2018 22:41
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It's an eye operation public and private but seriously have you done a basic Google search?

So much information online

John



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  #2075566 18-Aug-2018 22:49
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Your doctor will usually tell you the likely hospital and any wait list scheduling info.

Rikkitic

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  #2075568 18-Aug-2018 23:04
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Of course I have used Google. I was wondering if anyone here had personal experiences or information to share.

 

 





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andrewNZ
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  #2075569 18-Aug-2018 23:13
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It'll depend on the type of cataract.

I had a penetrating eye injury and developed a cataract inside my eye well after the event.

Optimist referred me to the opthmology department at the hospital.
The conversation at the hospital went a little bit like this.
"You have a cataract on your lens, we can sort that now for you if you like"
"What's involved"
"We burn it out with a laser"
"How long can I think about it"
"2 mins, we do it now or you wait months"
"... OK then?"

So I sat there with my chin resting in the doodad, held still, and the old battleaxe shot lasers into my eye. Was all over in 5 mins


I imagine that my experience will be very different to yours.
The only people who can tell you what is involved are the health professionals with knowledge of your particular condition.

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  #2075581 19-Aug-2018 00:07
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One of my parents had it done. They do one at a time, which can be over a long period of time. It was done on the public system. I don't think it is anything to worry about. Obviously there are risks etc though, but that is the same with anything.


Rikkitic

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  #2075619 19-Aug-2018 10:44
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Mine are just the old age type. From what I have researched and been told by the optometrist, the lenses need replacing. I have a good idea what the surgery entails but I was wondering if anyone here had gone through it and could share their experience. I was also wondering what was involved (bureaucratically) in getting it done on the public system. I am aware that there are no differences as far as the procedure itself is concerned. This is just something I am confronting in the near future and I am trying to gather as much information as possible. Google has lots of detail on the procedures but I am also interested in personal experiences from the patient point of view. I realise it is a fairly routine procedure these days but it never hurts to be informed.

 

 

 

  





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afe66
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  #2075625 19-Aug-2018 10:58
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Its a routine minor operation done under local anaesthetic, often a sub tenon eye block and takes about 20-40 minutes.

 

Its tolerated remarkably well and done in some very frail people.

 

Usually do one eye at a time as it can take some time for the vision to settle completely and if you do both eyes at the same time, you might not be able to see.

 

 

 

Not sure what you mean by "what is involved bureaucratically"

 

You see a Ophthalmologist, they work out your points, you go on a waiting list and when you get to the top of the list you get your operation.

 

The list night be shorter in private but you pay for it.

 

 

 

 


 
 
 

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afe66
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  #2075714 19-Aug-2018 12:40
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Lense is always replaced because a cataract is an opaque/cloudy lense. If you wear glasses define the new lease can have the prescription built in so that you no longer need glasses.

My father who needed glasses from age 15 found no longer needing them at 74 to be very strange. He hasn't seen his face in focus without glasses for very long time.

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  #2076648 21-Aug-2018 11:16
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In regards to risks: my mother had cataracts dealt to when she was in her 70s; they did them one eye at a time, which was lucky as after the first eye they discovered she had a genetic condition that resulted in her initially losing much of the sight in that eye. The solution was a cornea replacement, which didn't come cheap. Unsurprisingly, the same thing happened to the other eye (but at least she went into it the second time knowing it was very likely). The surgery had to be done in Auckland, so involved multiple trips for pre- and post-surgery checkups as well as the main events. All up I can imagine it was a decent pile of dosh.

 

Sorry, I don't recall the name of the condition that led to this, but I can see if I can find it if you're interested. I recall there were big concerns from the family as to the information the cataract surgeon had provided my mother in relation to explaining the risks prior (basically said after it happened that he wasn't surprised it had - but didn't explain this prior).


Rikkitic

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  #2076710 21-Aug-2018 12:47
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That is thoroughly alarming but thanks for the info. I just have to hope that there are no complications in my case, which seems to be how it usually happens. I am not looking forward to this at all, but I really have little choice. I live a long way from town, no public transport, and I can't pass the driver license eye exam again. My optometrist signed off for another 12 months to give me time for the surgery but that is it. 

 

 





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kryptonjohn
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  #2076748 21-Aug-2018 13:02
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My mother had both eyes done in her mid-late seventies. They put in prescription lenses so she only needs glasses for reading. She had it done privately as her insurance paid. I know a couple of other people who have had cataract surgery and I believe I can now spot those that have, as I can see a distinctive refractive twinkle in their pupils!

 

I'd be quite happy to get cataracts myself - and get new lenses on my insurance instead of having to fork out for Lasik or similar.

 

 


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  #2076752 21-Aug-2018 13:06
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Yeah, it's reported as typically being one of the lower-risk surgeries, so I'm sure you'll be fine - and I can understand the desire to get it all sorted!

 

A bit of googling and I've come up with the name of the condition my mother had - it's called Fuchs Distrophy, and reading through that it seems it's most commonly known of before someone has cataract surgery, so they can plan for this at the time (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/wilmer/conditions/Fuchs/treatment/fuchs_cataracts.html) ; in my mother's case, it appears the initial surgeon picked this up prior to the surgery but didn't fully inform my mother of the risks (if at all) - which we thought amounted to negligence and warranted a complaint to the H&DC. But my parents - common to many of that generation - weren't ones to make a fuss... 

 

 

 

 


andrewNZ
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  #2076996 21-Aug-2018 18:10
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I have one eye that glints now. Makes people stop and look strangely sometimes.

One major downside is the eye no longer filters UV meaning I have a tough time without sunglasses on bright days.

Rikkitic

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  #2077003 21-Aug-2018 18:36
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andrewNZ: I have one eye that glints now. Makes people stop and look strangely sometimes.

One major downside is the eye no longer filters UV meaning I have a tough time without sunglasses on bright days.

 

That is the kind of thing you can only get from a patient perspective. Both points.

 

 





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pctek
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  #2079392 26-Aug-2018 15:24
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afe66: Lense is always replaced because a cataract is an opaque/cloudy lense. .

 

Actually the lenses are replaced now, because they can.

 

But originally you had the old one removed and that was it.

 

A side effect of not having the lens anymore was the ability to then see ultraviolet.

 

Usually the do one at a time. My mum had a 3 week wait for the first then a 3 day wait for the second.

 

 


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