Her nuclear cataracts were moderate, about grade 2, but she had high myopia exceeding −10 D and was hesitating over surgery, also hoping for the refractive correction effect of cataract surgery. One eye had early myopic traction maculopathy, not enough to reduce vision, so from the start multifocal lenses were ruled out and we recommended surgery with monofocal lenses. We operated with micro-monovision, targeting about −2.0 D, reported to give high satisfaction in people with high myopia; as a result she cleared 0.7 uncorrected, the vision needed for license renewal, and near was 1.2 without glasses. In our experience, a very interesting point is that people freed from high myopia by cataract surgery often have better uncorrected distance vision than people who were never myopic, at the same refraction.
Cataract Surgery Cases / Case
Monofocal IOL
Case #10: Woman in her 60s from Suginami (high myopia: monofocal lenses)
This is an English translation of the original Japanese case report. If the two differ, the Japanese version takes precedence. Visual acuity is shown in decimal notation (1.0 ≈ 20/20).
Change in visual acuity (decimal; corrected values in parentheses)
Right eye: pre-op → post-op
Left eye: pre-op → post-op
2018.01.10
Patient questionnaire
Answers translated from Japanese.
- What was your condition before surgery?
My vision had dropped, and the glare of lights and the sun bothered me.
- What led you to have surgery?
The eye doctor I used to see recommended surgery, but I was hesitant.
Meeting Dr. Morohoshi, whom I could trust, I felt I could have the surgery with peace of mind, and decided.- Which did you choose, a multifocal lens or a monofocal lens?
I don't find wearing glasses inconvenient, so I thought monofocal lenses would be enough.