rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Someone I know just had cataract surgery. It appeared to be a very simple straight-forward procedure. They opted for close vision lens replacement. At my suggestion. they opted for progressive lenses which are virtually blank on the bottom and progress for distant vision as one looks through the upper portion of the lens. They are quite pleased.
--Bob

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

I have had cataracts fixed. I went for distance vision correction and am no longer restricted to driving with glasses. This makes purchase of sunglasses a fraction as expensive as for corrected lenses.

My neighbor, also my ophthalmologist, says that she sees a fair number of patients treated at another local cataract surgeons office. He pushes for one near correction and one far correction. According to her experience our older brains to do adjust to this change well and she does have to replace lenses as a result.

Re photography. Gee whiz, suddenly you realize why everyone thought your color balance was screwey. I noticed this as soon as I awoke after my first lens. The "new" eye was crystal clear and the "old" eye had a definite yellow cast.

sgt hop Loc: baltimore md,now in salisbury md

i had both done...only need reading glasses...my experience was painless.....no problems...it was the best medical experience i ever had.....

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Had one eye done. Simple went in to hospital at 6:00 AM was third on line. Could not see chart to read letters on it. Had it done, they put a kinda see they patch on it and at 11:00 AM I was sitting in a restaurant having breakfast and could see, not well thru the mast but could see. Patch off the next morning. I see colors different now with the fixed eye, better. I mentioned that on a later visit to the doctor and his come back was you must be a photographer or artist as they seemed to be the only people that notice.

pendennis

Had the surgery seven years ago, and absolutely no regrets. I did pay the up charge for a B&L toric lens to correct severe astigmatism.

Did it affect my photography? Absolutely, and in a very positive way. I no longer wear glasses to see through the viewfinders, and the colors I see now are dazzling. I only wear glasses @1.5d for reading. I also get to wear all the cool Raybans, Wiley-X, AO, etc., sunglasses.

Only regret is not being able to have it done sooner for the astigmatism correction.

lnl Loc: SWFL

Check with your ophthalmologist for what he/she thinks is best. I had thought about the multi-focal lens implants but due to another eye condition was an unlikely candidate. I am corrected for distance vision and astigmatism and have 20/20 vision. Just being corrected for astigmatism is great. No problems with photography. I can read fairly close if need to, but dollar store glasses are easy to keep in multiple places and not a problem. I had worn progressive lenses for about 20 years and single vision lenses for 50 years before that.
As others have said, the color shift was dramatic! I came home from the surgery and was surprised at the color of the walls in our house. Much better than before without the yellow cast.

Bob3

I had both eyes done in July 2020 and can see much better now. My Doctor recommended the Astigmatism correction (toric) lens and said the Bifocal and tri focal lens could cause halos when looking through the view finder and when driving at night, so I would ask your Doctor which lens he would recommend for you.

FLBill

I had both eyes done 8 or 9 years ago. Besides the obvious change to better than 20/20 from 20/600 was a very noticeable change in color. It seems the replaced lens was not only losing clarity, but was taking on a strong tint which was making things appear yellow. I was amazed to see what I thought was green led digits on a microwave were actually blue.

I paid extra for the Crystalens replacements. I am still 20/20 and generally do not need reading glasses. The only time I do is in very low light or with the extremely small print found on some OTC medicine containers.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

I had my cataract surgery in Oct/Nov 2020 and am very pleased with the results. It is so nice not having to put in contacts in the morning and taking them out at bed time. I do notice a bit of dry eye now, but drops take care of that.
When I was between the two surgeries, I did a test of looking at a subject with one eye covered and then the over eye covered. I was amazed at how much brighter and whiter the object was when I looked at it with the repaired eye.
Now that both eyes are done, I think everything is brighter than before and perhaps the colors are more saturated as well.

I had corrections done for distance. The extra cost was $1,500 per eye. To go the next step and get the combination of near/far corrections was another $1,500 per eye. I decided I would use reader glasses since I used them for years with my contacts for close up reading.

kufengler Loc: Meridian, Idaho 83646

It really hasn't affected my photography, arthritis & other (old age) related issues have. Not as steady as I once was.

I had my cataract surgery done quite a while back, I was about 46 (I'm 72) now. Back then the single focus lens was pretty much my only option.
My first eye was done in December of that year, the other in January. One lens helps for distance viewing (the eye I use for looking through the viewfinder) the other more for close up. For everyday activities this works out well; when getting my Drivers License renew last year I passed the eye test. (20-20). I do wear glass when watching TV or reading a book since the lens balance out the vision.
Overall, I'm super happy how mine turned out.

redlegfrog

The cataracts come on slowly and are removed quickly. You will love the way you can see again! It happens real quick. Just wait until you go out for your first walk, you'll love it!
Some times some people need a tune-up and I'm one of those. It happens at the 3 year mark. I had my left eye done on Tuesday. Its real simple just a quick blast with a laser, done in the office.

I have never heard anyone with the single focus lens complain but I heard enough people complain about the multifocal lens that I chose the single.

mikenolan Loc: Lincoln Nebraska

I had my first eye done 3 weeks ago and the second eye done a week ago, and my vision is now at 20/25 in both eyes and should clean up a bit more after the yag laser procedure in a month to eliminate a little cloudiness. I got the Symphony lens in my left eye which is sort of like blended bifocals and also corrects astigmatism, the right eye didn't need that.

Sometimes I use a pair of drugstore reading glasses for close-up reading and anything close than about 8 inches requires a magnifying glass.

Something I learned after the 2nd procedure is that replacement lenses are clear but the lenses you're born with have a slight yellow tint to them even before cataracts form, so after the procedure things will seem a bit more blue. That might affect photographers more than they expect.

rlscholl Loc: California

As the responses suggest, Cataract surgery typically deals with two issues: cataract removal, which has the primary effect of everything appearing brighter and colors more intense, and vision correction. The various options have different trade-offs, and they are not unlike the trade-offs involved in selecting lenses for photography. Generally, the trade-offs are between convenience and optics (e.g., sharpness), not unlike the trade-offs between zoom and prime lenses. In my case, partially because I have been wearing glasses for decades, and have become accustomed to wearing them, when I had cataract surgery, I placed a higher value on optics, and chose distant vision correction lenses, and wear bifocals or use reading glasses for near vision. This reflects my choices for lenses for photography, where I use primes almost exclusively.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I had it done by laser. Both eyes at the same time. Since I wanted the best vision I could get, I opted for the singular focus implant. I realized I would need glasses for reading and all not distant viewing. I prefer progressive lenses which offer a continuous range from reading (at the bottom of the lens) to infinity at the top. The disadvantage is that the sides are out of focus.

reverand

I've had cataract surgery, which has actually improved my vision. You get a choice of whether to insert a clear lens or a corrective lens (which costs about $1400). Go with the corrective lens. They use sophisticated laser equipment to measure your eye, and then design the lens accordingly. My post-cataract vision is 20-15 in each eye.

You have a choice of three types of lenses. There's a lens that focuses at infinity, but will require you to wear reading glasses for close-up work. There's a lens that interacts with your eye muscles, allowing you to focus more or less as you usually do (i.e., no reading glasses should be required). And there's a compromise lens that doesn't focus at infinity, but allows you to see things close-up without reading glasses.

Go with the lenses that focus at infinity, and wear reading glasses. I now have graduated glasses that are clear on top, and +2.75 on bottom. For most things, I don't need glasses at all, but I do for close-up work.

The lenses that interact with your eye muscles actually don't work that well. They produce flare, and one of the benefits of getting rid of cataracts, is that you also get rid of flare. The technology here is simply not good enough yet. People who get the compromise lenses tend to be disappointed, simply because they aren't really sharp at distance.

The people who get the lenses focused at infinity tend to be the most satisfied, and living with reading glasses isn't really that much of a pain.