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By Mayo Clinic staffCataract surgery successfully restores vision in the majority of people who have the procedure.
People who have had cataract surgery may develop a common complication known as posterior capsule opacification (PCO), or secondary cataract. This happens when the back of the lens capsule — the part of the lens that wasn't removed during surgery and that now supports the lens implant — becomes cloudy and impairs your vision.
PCO is treated with a painless, five-minute outpatient procedure called yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) laser capsulotomy. In YAG laser capsulotomy, a laser beam is used to make a small opening in the clouded capsule to let light pass through.
After the procedure, you typically stay in the doctor's office for about an hour to make sure your eye pressure doesn't increase. Other complications are rare but can include swelling of the macula and retinal detachment.
- Cataract in the adult eye. American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://one.aao.org/asset.axd?id=821cecfb-85c5-400d-a65f-7a9a727bc163. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Facts about cataract. National Eye Institute. http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/cataract/cataract_facts.asp. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Cataract surgery. EyeCare America. http://www.eyecareamerica.org/eyecare/treatment/cataract-surgery/index.cfm. Accessed April 16, 2010.
- Cataract surgery. American Optometric Association. http://www.aoa.org/x9954.xml. Accessed April 16, 2010.
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