Cataracts Treatment

Question by suzie Q: How long can you have cataracts before requiring surgery?
I have just been diagnosed with having cataracts. I am just wondering how long I can go before having to be operated on. So far they are not bothering my vision too much. Optometrist says they are moderate. Does anybody know the answer? Thanks for any information you might have.

Best answer:

Answer by Footprintz
It varies from person to person.

It depends how fast they decide to develop to the point where it really interferes with your vision.

Could be months, could be a year or two

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Question by meena: do the patients really need tetanus shot before cataract surgery?

Best answer:

Answer by pennybarr
I’ve never heard of needing a tetanus shot prior to cataract surgery. Perhaps, there was a chance of infection from some other source or the person had not had a tetanus shot in many years and the doctor was being overly cautious.

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Question by osunumberonefan: If you’ve had cataract eye surgery/LASIK done before, please let me know how things went Would you do it again

Best answer:

Answer by Sadie
My husband had it done and he loves it. He just had to put in eye drops a few times a day for a couple months. BUt he has not had any sort of complications.

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Question by Robb R: Early symptoms of cataracts. How long does one wait before the surgery consequences exceed the problem?

Best answer:

Answer by Serena
My grandmother had to have cataract surgery a few years ago. They’ve made even more improvements since her experience. Most eye doctors would be able to tell you what they prefer, as far as whether you wait or not. In my family’s experience (2 grandparents, an aunt, and a couple of great aunts), they wait for the symptoms to affect your vision severely enough to interfere with your everyday life/tasks before they do surgery. The patient will often have to go in for several evaluations over the span of weeks or months in order to evaluate the progression of the cataracts. As with all things, that progress would determine when surgery would be best.

Ophthalmologists and other eye specialists would be able to evaluate an individual’s overall health and determine when the effects of “the problem” become worse than the side effects of “the cure”. In any specific case, all factors from medications, health history, and other pre-surgical evaluations would be considered in the decision.

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Question by Jennifer F: Do cataracts need to be “ripe” before Medicare will pay for surgery?
I know that most doctors say that you no longer need to wait until cataracts are “ripe” before having surgery, but does Medicare have any guidelines as to when they will pay for the surgery?

Best answer:

Answer by singhcanto
If a doctor says you need surgery for cataracts… then Medicare will pay PART of the cost and you Part F will pay the rest.

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