How Do Cataracts and Cataract Surgery Affect LASIK?

There are often questions around whether an individual who currently has cataracts, or who has had cataract surgery, can have LASIK surgery.

The vision problems corrected by LASIK surgery are caused by the shape of the eye’s cornea, usually causing traditional nearsightedness and farsightedness. A cataract is also a vision problem, but with a different cause: A cataract is a clouding of your eye’s lens. Many individuals over 40 will experience vision loss due to cataracts.

Can someone with cataracts have LASIK surgery? 
The answer to this question the majority of the time is no. LASIK surgery is not designed to correct vision problems caused by cataracts. Also, over time, cataracts will worsen to the point of necessitating cataract surgery. There are rare circumstances when an individual has small, stable cataracts that are not causing any vision issues and LASIK surgery may be a possibility. This, of course, would be determined following a comprehensive eye exam and discussion with both your eye doctor and your LASIK eye surgeon.

Can someone have LASIK surgery following cataract surgery? 
With advanced cataract surgery available today, LASIK surgery following a cataract surgery is usually not necessary. During cataract surgery, the surgeon will remove the lens that has become cloudy and replace it with an artificial lens. This restores the patient’s clear vision. During the surgery, in addition to removing cataracts, the eye surgeon can also correct nearsightedness or farsightedness, which would be typically fixed during LASIK surgery. This eliminates the need for a patient to have both cataract surgery and LASIK eye surgery.

For questions regarding cataract surgery or LASIK surgery, contact the staff at Lasik Vision Centers of Cleveland. We are happy to answer any questions you may have, or help you schedule an appointment for a consultation.