CATARACT SURGERY

RRose
Sorry to hear you have such problems. Cataracts are a nuisance aren't they?

I too had early, rapid-onset cataracts which were swiftly & successfully treated by my local NHS Trust 7 years ago. However in ten days I am due to be "zapped" to sort out the common capsule problem that can occur subsequently.

Reading your post reminded me that I still have the cards that were issued at the time of surgery which details the maker of the replacement lenses and the lot numbers, in addition to the actual optical bumf information. Do you think those details are recorded on NHS records &, theoretically, would the NHS be able to inform people of a "bad" lot number - as you, unfortunately, seem to have received? It would give a different slant on "product recall notices" that we often see & hear about!

I hope you're still managing OK for the moment. Good luck!

Thanks for your replies.

The treatment was done privately at Moorfields Eye Hospital rather than the NHS. My short-sightedness was 4.25 in the worse eye so they were able to deal with it. I still need glasses for reading but I'm not bothered about that.

The opacity issue that often occurs after cataract surgery is treatable with a laser.This is different - the lens itself is defective and the only solution is to replace it.

Thousands of others have probably been affected.

I suppose it is just bad luck and I am lucky that it can be replaced, but messing about with the eyes is risky.

I am getting by at present but if my ability to read gets worse, I will have the lens replaced.

I think in emergencies or serious illness the NHS is superb. Our DD was seriously injured in a road accident over 5 years ago and we could not fault her treatment and care. She has only recently finally been signed off at her local hospital.

Our experience is that quality can vary so much within hospitals. Superb in one speciality, poor in another. My DF was superbly treated in the cardiac unit of the hospital we avoided for cataract treatment.

This rather sums up the problems with NHS.
Quite apart from my cataract op's which could, if necessary, have been done privately, we are so reliant on the efficiency of our local hospital because my daughter has such serious chronic issues that we couldn't cope with dealing with them privately.
Fortunately we have an excellent teaching hospital and we're in Scotland. Given what I've read about hospital trusts south of the border I am so glad we are where we are.

We went privately because of issues about the efficiency of our local hospital, who had bungled the cataract surgery of an acquaintance and left her blind in one eye. We saw a surgeon at the local private hospital, he was from our local NHS hospital but came with recommendations. Once again, once our optician recommended the operation, our GP referred us to the surgeon, we have both been seen and operated on rapidly.

I wondered about that too monica but as all my surgery was undertaken (within weeks of diagnosis) by the superbly efficient opthalmology dept of my local NHS hospital it wasn't really an issue

How far cataract replacement surgery can correct existing short sight depends on how bad your short sight is. My eyes were -6 and -9 respectively and I am still slightly short-sighted in both eyes but the surgeon made it possible for me to manage normally without glasses but I do need then for any distance viewing, driving, watching tv etc. DH is -9 in both eyes and about to have cataract surgery on his second eye and the surgeon has told him that he can only bring his sight up to -3 in both eyes so he will still need glasses.

I had the same problem as mcem in one eye and laser surgery sorted that out.

I wonder whether the company who did your eyes 'over-promised' the improvement you would see.

Mine wasn't quite the same but I did experience cloudiness a while after surgery. It took a short appt where both eyes were zapped with a laser. No pain or discomfort, no aftercare needed and no recurrence.
Have never heard of your problem but as there must statistically be a small %age of things going awry after any procedure
I think you've just been unlucky.
Hope all goes well and you've no further problems. ?