Question:
Are there any out there with the same or similar predicament? Are there any
> younger folks with cataracts, or have you heard of any?
Answer:
I had cataract surgery about three years ago (I am 51). I was scared, but
everything turned out fine. I had already had a retinal detachment in
that eye, but there is always danger of re-detachment. Although losing
one's vision is very scary, and eye surgery is scary, I think the actual
truth is that the most dangerous part was the drive down the freeway.
An advantage of having the surgery at our age, is that we are probably in
better health than those who usually have this surgery.
Two of the guys in my hallway at work have had this surgery, and I think
they are both younger. Both of them were told that injury was the
problem.
Get opinions from two or three ophthalmological surgeons early,
before the cataract advances very far. See whether they largely
agree on the diagnosis, compare their recommended course of treatment,
and compare their manner of dealing with you as a patient.
Have the surgeons measure your eye for fitting an IOL. Accurate
measurements are needed to select the right IOL to get the desired
focal distance. (As the cataract progresses it can get more difficult
to accurately measure the length of your eye, so the earlier this
is done, the better.)
