If your doctor has recommended a posterior capsulotomy, read on to know what to expect at the visit.
1. What is a posterior capsulotomy?
- A quick and painless laser procedure that takes approximately 1-2 minutes for most patients.
- Performed some time (weeks to years) after cataract surgery when your natural capsule holding the intraocular lens becomes cloudy or wrinkled, affecting your vision.
- Posterior capsulotomy is the making of an opening in the cloudy/wrinkled capsule with a laser.
2. What will happen at a posterior capsulotomy visit?
- You will receive numbing eye drops, and then dilating eye drops in the eye(s) receiving the treatment.
- You will wait a few minutes while your pupil(s) dilate.
- Your doctor will bring you back to the laser room.
- Your doctor may use a small lens to focus a small laser on the cloudy capsule and make a small opening. You will hear little beeping sounds, and you will feel no pain.
3. What to expect after the posterior capsulotomy?
- Your vision will be dark for a few minutes immediately after the laser from the bright lights. This usually clears up within a few minutes.
- Since you will be dilated in one or both eyes, bring a driver if you usually do not feel comfortable driving after dilation.
- If your doctor prescribes you any eye drops to use after the laser, use them as instructed.
- You will receive instructions to make a follow-up appointment to make sure you have healed as expected.
- You may notice a few new floaters after the procedure – they may be fragments of the capsule that was opened with the laser.
4. What are the risks of a posterior capsulotomy?
- As with any eye procedures, there are small risks associated with a posterior capsulotomy, such as the following:
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- You may have a retinal tear or detachment. If you notice a lot of new floaters, flashes of light or blurry vision like a curtain moving across your field of vision, call our office immediately for a dilated eye exam.
- Your eye pressure may increase. You should not have eye pain, eye redness or headaches after the procedure. If you do, call our office the same day.
- The intraocular lens may shift in position. If you notice a change in your vision, call our office for a re-evaluation.
- You may have swelling in your retina, which would not hurt, but may distort your vision, and you may need medical treatment.
REMEMBER:
If you have a question or a concern about your vision or your eyes, call us at 520-327-3487.
