Can I have Cataract Surgery after Laser Eye Surgery (LASIK)?

Yes, you can have Cataract Surgery after Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery or any other type of laser vision correction procedure, such as PRK. The reason being that cataracts affect the lens in the eye which is a separate part of the eye from the cornea which has been treated with Laser Eye Surgery. 

Laser eye surgery corrects vision problems to be free from wearing glasses or contact lenses, such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism. LASIK surgery works by reshaping the cornea. The cornea is like the glass on the front of your watch, it is the clear tissue at the front of the eye that bends the light as it passes through to focus your vision. Laser eye surgery works by reshaping the cornea using an excimer laser, this then allows light entering the eye to be properly focused onto the retina.

Cataract surgery is modern microsurgery that removes your damaged lens (cataract) and replaces it with a new intraocular lens.  The lens is positioned just behind the coloured part of your eye, the iris.  A healthy lens focuses light that passes into your eye producing a clear, sharp image on your retina. A normal lens is clear but when a cataract forms it becomes cloudy and the quality of your vision deteriorates. A cataract isn’t resolvable on its own, or with eye drops, in fact over time it will harden, and can not be fixed with glasses or contact lens.

The new replacement intraocular lens will remain clear and last for life. There are a choice of different intraocular lenses available.

For most people who have cataract surgery (and who have not had laser eye surgery) the procedure is straight forward and your surgeon takes eye measurements pre-surgery to determine which intraocular lens to choose for your eye. 

For people who have had LASIK your surgeon needs to do additional calculations to work out the best intraocular correct lens power to give you your best visual result. Modern lens power calculations now only use your current eye measurements. Your prescription measurements both before and after you had LASIK, as well as the measurement of the curvature of your cornea before you had your laser vision correction surgery are no longer required. But if you have had your previous laser eye surgery done at Bowen Eye Clinic we will have records of these measurements.

The visual results after cataract surgery are excellent with majority of people achieving driving standards vision without requiring glasses. New glasses after cataract surgery are often required for reading or close up vision.  At Bowen Eye Clinic, Dr Reece Hall can assess you for your cataract surgery.  Laser cataract surgery is also available should you wish to have vision independent of glasses after your cataract surgery.

Call 0800 69 20 20 to make an appointment.