Things had been hard to see for several years, and another clinic had pointed out cataracts; she first visited us for surgery, accompanied by her daughter. There was iris atrophy and poor pupil dilation, but nuclear hardness was about grade 3, age-appropriate cataracts considering she was over 90.
Given her age, we set the powers somewhat more near-dominant than usual so she could manage her immediate surroundings without glasses; but since she had made the decision to have surgery, we used mild monovision so that uncorrected distance vision would also be better than before surgery.
Postoperative vision was 0.8 (1.2) in the dominant eye and 0.5 (1.2p) in the non-dominant eye, with powers just beyond −1.0 D, and she was very satisfied that she could see the TV and newspaper well without glasses.
She came wishing for surgery at her daughter's recommendation, but being worried about her age, it apparently took her quite a while to decide to have it. Of course it is safer to have surgery while your general health is good, before the cataract progresses too far, but surgery can now be done more quickly and safely than before. The longer you put up with a cataract and postpone surgery, the greater the risk when you do have it, so if you are considering surgery, we recommend not holding back because of your age and being examined early.
Cataract Surgery Cases / Case
Monofocal IOL
Case #26: Woman in her 90s from Nakano (monofocal lenses: intermediate distance, −1.0 D target)
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
2019.04.14
Patient questionnaire
Answers translated from Japanese.
- What was your condition before surgery?
I couldn't read the text on TV, and I read the newspaper with a magnifying glass.
- What led you to have surgery?
My family recommended it.
- Which did you choose, a multifocal lens or a monofocal lens?
Monofocal lenses.