Can I Have Cataract Surgery After LASIK?
Cataract surgery after LASIK, PRK or RK is possible, but more involved that surgery on a virgin eye. When selecting the appropriate replacement lens implant, Dr. Zimm performs detailed calculations to determine the correct lens power you will need to see well after surgery. When you originally had LASIK, or PRK, or RK, the primary measurement considered for your treatment was the curvature of your cornea – whether it was too steep (nearsighted), too flat (farsighted) or out of round (astigmatism).
The new changes in your eye are now likely related to the lens, rather than the cornea. As this lens became less flexible, you developed presbyopia and had to hold things further and further away, with good lighting, to read. And the lens itself became discolored and cloudy, which is a cataract.
When Dr. Zimm evaluates which lens implant to give you after cataract removal, he considers three things:
-Axial length
-Anterior chamber depth
-Corneal power
An error in any of these three parameters can lead to a refractive surprise, meaning your vision after surgery is not what we, or you, desire. Improvements in technology have allowed us to more precisely measure axial length and anterior chamber depth, improving accuracy and visual acuity after cataract surgery. These two measurements are not materially affected by previous LASIK, PRK or RK. However, corneal power is the third critical element of preoperative lens measurements, and is where we take extra care with our measurements for cataract surgery after LASIK.