Can my mother's old eye surgery be causing vision loss?

Question

Hello doctor,

My mother had an eye operation 10 years ago. Currently, she can see only 30 percent of the vision from that operated eye, and the other eye has no vision at all. She also has cataracts. I have already visited an ophthalmology doctor but could not understand their explanation clearly. With your permission, I have submitted my mother's eye documents.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have gone through your query and understand your concern.

From what you have described, it sounds like your mother had eye surgery about 10 years ago on one eye, and now that eye is only seeing around 30 percent, while the other eye has no vision at all. You mentioned she has a cataract. Suppose she previously had cataract surgery, but her vision is now reduced again. In that case, she may be experiencing posterior capsule opacification (PCO), which is a common long-term complication after cataract surgery and can be treated with a simple laser procedure called YAG laser capsulotomy.

On the other hand, if the eye has other issues like glaucoma, retinal disease, or optic nerve damage, those could also explain the vision loss and require a different treatment approach. Since the other eye is fully blind, it is essential to do everything possible to protect the remaining vision in the seeing eye.

If available, I strongly recommend that you return to an ophthalmologist who can perform a detailed slit-lamp examination, retinal check (fundus examination), and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Please bring any past surgery records or test reports with you. If you have uploaded images or documents, I will review them closely and guide you further based on what I see.

I hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.