Question:
I had a medical consultation today about having the
cataract operation. The surgeon suggested that while he was in
there, he could make 2 little cuts on each side of the cornea and
improve my astigmatism.
Wondering whether it's worth it. The cataract surgery
would be covered, but the 2 little cuts would cost $1200/eye, not
covered.
What to do, what to do?
Answer:
I don't know about the procedure your opthamologist suggested, but in
normal cataract surgery, the incision is placed with the hope that it
will reduce the astigmatism somewhat. In my case it reduced it
signficantly in one eye and less so in the other. My wife had a similar
experience. But there is nothing guaranteed about any of this as far as
I know, and results can be variable.
It is certainly a medical procedure.
The purpose is to improve your vision. This is exactly the same as the
cataract surgery (which I had a few years back in my right eye). The
cataract surgery is done to improve your vision. There are no effects of
a cataract other than losing your vision. In fact, there are small risks
to the cataract surgery, of getting an infection that makes your vision
worse, or causes other problems. Nevertheless, cataract surgery seems to
be covered by insurance or medical plans when the cataract has progressed
to a certain point.
This raises doubts in my mind about the wisdom of having refractive
surgery. If your medical plan won't cover it, that tells me that there
may be doubt as to whether it is worth it. Another factor, mentioned by
another poster, is the interaction between the two surgeries as far as
your astigmatism goes. Cataract surgery by itself can make astigmatism
better or worse. Perhaps it would be better to wait and see what the
effect of your cataract surgery is on your astigmatism before you have
other surgery. Also, assuming that you are having an IOL (intra ocular
lens) implanted as part of the cataract surgery, that may effect your
regular refraction, and depending on your particular circumstances, they
cannot predict exactly what the effect will be. You may need correction
for that also, and that would be a factor in what you want to do later.
