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halfwright

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It appears that we are set until next fall. We start 12/1 at the City of Rocks state park for our second time there. We will work for 3 months. Then In April, we have a tentative  volunteer position near Jemez Springs NM.  We are currently in Las Cruces NM where I am having cataract surgery. Might try Texas next winter.
 
Good luck with the surgery. Let me know how it goes, I probably have one of those in my future.

I rarely read people's signatures since I really don't care what they own but I just read halfright's and got a chuckle:

Ryder, half poodle-- half garbage disposal
 
Tom,

I am on the third day after surgery on my left eye. About 30% more light and colors I haven't seen in 20 years. I had the choice, with a new lens, of distance or closeup focus. I chose distance and it works well.

The surgery itself was nothing. I was was awake the whole time. Minor pain from the injections. Two days of a feeling of sand in the eye. Today, it feels good.

I get the right eye done on two weeks.
 
A couple of the guys that work for me here have had cataract surgery,as has one of my sisters. All are completely satisfied. My sister was really concerned, as she has been blind in her right eye from birth, and at 73 years old and living by herself, the thought of not being able to see was a real big issue. Now that it is done, she wished she had done it earlier.
 
SeilerBird said:
Good luck with the surgery. Let me know how it goes, I probably have one of those in my future.

I rarely read people's signatures since I really don't care what they own but I just read halfright's and got a chuckle:

Ryder, half poodle-- half garbage disposal
Had cataract surgery about 5 years ago and everything has been fine.  Then on my last checkup the doc told me I was developing a film across my eyes or a part of them affected by the surgery and that this was common after cataracts.  It could be fixed quickly with a 10 minute laser procedure to burn off the film.  I had that done yesterday and I am amazed how much brighter everything looks.  Done right in the office exam room with no fancy surgical stuff.  Most notable improvement is the computer screen where every bit of the print is super sharp and dark - I thought it looked a bit light earlier.  Just info for those who don't know.

Bill
 
Bill N said:
Had cataract surgery about 5 years ago and everything has been fine.  Then on my last checkup the doc told me I was developing a film across my eyes or a part of them affected by the surgery and that this was common after cataracts.  It could be fixed quickly with a 10 minute laser procedure to burn off the film.  I had that done yesterday and I am amazed how much brighter everything looks.  Done right in the office exam room with no fancy surgical stuff.  Most notable improvement is the computer screen where every bit of the print is super sharp and dark - I thought it looked a bit light earlier.  Just info for those who don't know.

Bill

I spent 10 years working in Ophthalmology after coming back from Viet Nam.  I assisted in hundreds of Cataract surgeries and have a couple of comments that might be of help.

The best surgeons that have the best results are almost always the ones that do high numbers of surgery on a regular basis.  The consistent and repetitive performing of the same exact procedure makes for a much lower incidence of problems.  The best surgeons are comparable to a highly skilled technician who does the same task over and over.

Every surgeon has to learn, but I am saying repetition makes for consistant outcomes.

The film mentioned above is called a "Secondary Membrane".  In the modern Intracapsular surgery the lens in the eye is removed in a way that allows the thin back membrane, (clear tissue) to remain intact as opposed to the much older style of surgery which removed the lens intact.  The older method had a much higher incidence of loss of Vitreous, (the thick clear substance that fills the globe behind the iris and lens).  This vitreous loss sometimes led to retinal problems.  The newer procedure is much better although sometime, (actually many if not most times) the posterior membrane of the lens gets cloudy or at least not perfectly clear.  This is a normal occurrence. and using a laser to to target the membrane it will split open and looks like a flower opening up under the microscope when you do it.

You get the safety benefit of the membrane keeping the Vitreous from coming forward and removing it later after surgery is very easy.

Cataract surgery is one of the safest and most common surgeries done. 
 
No....Ask how many surgeries he has done

Edit:  Maybe I should elaborate on how to find an excellent ethical Ophthalmologist.

Unfortunately, there are some cataract surgeons who are what we call "Black Sheep".  These are the ones that have a bus load of patients come in and they will also do surgery on the bus driver. 

What you are looking for is a high volume surgeon that is ethical and uses a reasonable criteria for determining when the results after surgery will be a marked improvement over the vision before surgery.

Talk to people and see who gets recommended.  Also you do not have to have surgery if you can see well enough and do not have problems.  Preventative surgery for cataracts is not a good idea.  As with any surgery you could have a complication.
 
The doctor I went to does surgery two days a week. I would guess from the numbers I saw, probably 30 a day. It is on an assembly line setup. Assistants prep you, he operates, and a different group monitors recovery. It took less than an hour total.
 
Jim just gave you half the answer.  Anybody that does that number should be very good at it.  Compare that to a surgeon that does only a few a week.

The really hard part is knowing how to spot the few surgeons that will do surgery on anyone and everyone.  Best advice is to ask other physicians that you might know about his results.

This works best if you know and trust a friend who is a physician.  Most insiders will help steer you away from the very few who have poor results and are know to do unnecessary surgery.  There has always been reluctance among some physicians to criticize other doctors, However you will usually get an opinion if it is confidential.

Again the best thing is to be conservative yourself as to when you know if the vision is not acceptable.  As long as you are seeing well you might want to wait awhile. 
 
How bad do you have to get before surgery is recommended? The last two times I had my eyes checked I was told I was in the beginning stages of having cataracts. But the doctors would not tell me how long till I needed the operation. My vision appears to be fine. Well not fine, I am 20/200 and 20/400 but that has been my vision all my life. The only problem I can see is a very small floater on my right eye which started about six months ago.
 
I'd be interested in the answer to that too, Tom.  My wife and I went in day before yesterday for our eye exams, and the Dr. told both of us that we also are in the beginning stages.  Said no surgery necessary at this time, but didn't give an idea of how long until it would be necessary.
I guess when you live with someone for 40 years you're bound to fall apart together.
 
The best answer that I can give you is the same answer that Bob Dole gave when he was asked, "Boxers or Briefs".

Depends.

A watch maker needs very good vision to work on the small parts inside a watch.  He might not tolerate any blurring or distortion of his vision.  Someone else might not be bothered much by quite a bit of blurred vision. 

There are measurements that might give you a measuring standard to go by like 20/40, 20/60 or higher.

Tom,  The 20/200 and 20/400 you mentioned are most likely uncorrected visual acuity.  You probably are near sighted, (Myopia). and have much better vision with your glasses.

You might consider the point that you cannot pass the vision part of your driving test as a point where you want or need better vision.  The real answer is when you are having trouble seeing what you want or what you need to see.

A good physician would consider several facts in determining when to recommend surgery.  First they would want to make sure that removing your cataract will most likely result in improving your vision and justifies the small risk of surgery. 

They might look at your occupation or hobbies to determine any special needs.

It has been said that everyone that lives long enough will get a cataract.  Some develop very slowly and some can be caused quickly by circumstances.  A strong electric shock can cause a traumatic cataract.  An accident from a high voltage power line or even a bolt of lighting might cause the lens in the eye to become cloudy.  That is what a cataract actually is, a clouding or lack of transparency in the natural lens of the eye. 

Another thing that can speed up the development of a cataract is certain medications, Steroids for one example.
Steroids have there uses and are very effective, but can sometimes cause that side effect.

The real answer to when it is necessary to remove a cataract "Depends" on what you want and expect as far as the quality of your vision and your needs.
 
Thanks Bill for all that info.  I did not know all the proper terminology but you sure nailed the explanation.  My surgeon was attached to a hospital clinic that has 10 or 15 opthamologists on staff and the offices are lined with senior citizens.  My regular eye doctor whom I see once per year for diabetes monitoring is the one who told me of the cataract formation and he told me that while you once had to wait until the cataracts were 'ripe'  that is no longer necessary.  They do one eye at a time usually a week or two apart - for obvious reasons. But I had an extra lens put in to correct an astigmatism (out of round eye??) and that cost me $1000 itself - not paid by Medicare.  The doctor who did the laser procedure yesterday told me that was a bargain price compared to today's price.  Anyway, I was given a choice of being able to read without glasses  or being able to have good distance vision without glasses (Bill you can explain that) so I took the distant vision and now use readers for closeup work - like computing.  Hope this helps those who have not yet had the procedure but I think Bill is the best source here.  My vision before the procedures was 20/400

Bill
 
HueyPilotVN said:
The best answer that I can give you is the same answer that Bob Dole gave when he was asked, "Boxers or Briefs".

Depends.
LOL

A watch maker needs very good vision to work on the small parts inside a watch.  He might not tolerate any blurring or distortion of his vision.  Someone else might not be bothered much by quite a bit of blurred vision. 
I would be bothered a whole bunch by blurry vision. I don't work but I am an avid photographer and you need good vision for that.
Tom,  The 20/200 and 20/400 you mentioned are most likely uncorrected visual acuity.  You probably are near sighted, (Myopia). and have much better vision with your glasses.
Yes, yes and yes. I read and use my laptop without my glasses on because my vision is pretty good for first six inches. After that I am blind as a bat.
It has been said that everyone that lives long enough will get a cataract.  Some develop very slowly and some can be caused quickly by circumstances.  A strong electric shock can cause a traumatic cataract.  An accident from a high voltage power line or even a bolt of lighting might cause the lens in the eye to become cloudy.  That is what a cataract actually is, a clouding or lack of transparency in the natural lens of the eye.
Well I am a retired electricians but I never got shocked at work. In fact the only two times I did get a shock of any magnitude was when I was working at home.
Another thing that can speed up the development of a cataract is certain medications, Steroids for one example. Steroids have there uses and are very effective, but can sometimes cause that side effect.
I did take some statins for a while and I have stopped taking them because of negative side effects. I also use some inhalers for my emphysema which has steroids in them. Other than that I only take a few mild prescriptions.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all these questions for me.
 

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