Cataract Surgery - Which lens did you choose, Cost and any problems?

[CrashClint]

I am 53 years old, my Optometrist told me my cataracts has gotten to the point I need to talk to a surgeon, so I had an eye exam and need to go back on Monday for a measurement and consult. I have a slight astigmatism in both eyes and would like to get as close to 20/20 without reading glasses as possible. I have done a little research and it seems any lens above the basic mono lens gets really expensive and if you add on laser correction it really goes up in cost.

I am curious if you don't mind sharing, which lens you selected and what it cost? My brother said I should come down to Tampa to have it done as it generally cost less because of all the seniors living down there but my insurance coverage drops for out of network surgery.

 

[JimK]

First-
Contact your Insurance Co. & ask what they cover, if the Doctor, Hospital, etc is on their approved List, etc.

...had both eyes done last year.
The surgeon originally pitched Crystalens...supposedly, they work great on someone like me (extremely nearsighted).
Upside: Your eye muscles work with these lens...no glasses for distance, near, & up-close.
Downside: Insurance does not cover them & there's no guarantee they will work as well as you had hoped. Once done, you're stuck.

So, after a topography of my eyes...surgeon recommended against Crystalens. I have the basic lens(?) for DISTANCE (this is what I asked for).

Distance is 20/20 (both eyes).
Reading glasses 2.50 for reading up-close & near (like a computer).

Gotta say this: For decades, my entire world was about 12" in. I could see fantastic up-very, very close & that was about it. I could read the smallest print that those with normal vision couldn't.
Now? My world is reversed.
12" out? Great...but frustrating as Hell carrying/losing reading glasses for up-close/near.
I am getting used to it, though.
On a whole, it's better than dealing with bifocals (which I never had but probably needed).

Another thing-
Post-surgery, you will have eye drops, etc. One is a steroid. Apparently, I am steroid-responsive. The pressure in my eye shot up...not good. Glad I called & went back after 4 days (I should have gone back even sooner).

Cost...per eye-
Surgeon's bill= $2500
My portion = $500

This surgery was done in an OR...so-
Anesthesia bill...I do not recall. A few hundred to be certain.
Operating Room Bill? $8000...my share was around $800.
Steep, IMO.
You check in @0800 & you are HOME by noon.
…$8000, yeah.

 

[CrashClint]

I went through all my testing and since I had lasik in 2005 I am not a candidate for Crystalens. I currently use Walmart 2.50 reading glasses for computer and reading. When I had the lasik surgery I went for distance but they kind of over shot. My current eye doctor said because of my age they should have undershot a little knowing I would get more farsighted. Now I am pretty far sighted and a bit of stigmatism came back so my distance is not as clear anymore. My eye doctor told me they are working on a new lens that probably will be available for a year or so but is more for people who have had lasik.

Yeah, I have been calling around and after deductible my plan is 80/20. I haven't heard back from the hospital yet so that is an unknown. It sucks that I have to pay twice for everything because they can't do both eyes at once and medicare doesn't kick in for another 12 years.

First-
Contact your Insurance Co. & ask what they cover, if the Doctor, Hospital, etc is on their approved List, etc.

...had both eyes done last year.
The surgeon originally pitched Crystalens...supposedly, they work great on someone like me (extremely nearsighted).
Upside: Your eye muscles work with these lens...no glasses for distance, near, & up-close.
Downside: Insurance does not cover them & there's no guarantee they will work as well as you had hoped. Once done, you're stuck.

So, after a topography of my eyes...surgeon recommended against Crystalens. I have the basic lens(?) for DISTANCE (this is what I asked for).

Distance is 20/20 (both eyes).
Reading glasses 2.50 for reading up-close & near (like a computer).

Gotta say this: For decades, my entire world was about 12" in. I could see fantastic up-very, very close & that was about it. I could read the smallest print that those with normal vision couldn't.
Now? My world is reversed.
12" out? Great...but frustrating as Hell carrying/losing reading glasses for up-close/near.
I am getting used to it, though.
On a whole, it's better than dealing with bifocals (which I never had but probably needed).

Another thing-
Post-surgery, you will have eye drops, etc. One is a steroid. Apparently, I am steroid-responsive. The pressure in my eye shot up...not good. Glad I called & went back after 4 days (I should have gone back even sooner).

Cost...per eye-
Surgeon's bill= $2500
My portion = $500

This surgery was done in an OR...so-
Anesthesia bill...I do not recall. A few hundred to be certain.
Operating Room Bill? $8000...my share was around $800.
Steep, IMO.
You check in @0800 & you are HOME by noon.
…$8000, yeah.

 

[Alkali Ike]

I just had my annual full eye exam by an ophthalmologist. I’m going to have the laser zapping treatment for floaters in one eye. That’s a pretty simple procedure with few complications and good outcomes in general.

But I also need to have cataract surgery with lens implants in both eyes. I also have cataracts forming, and one eye has scar tissue on the retina. The only way to get rid of it is to go in there. If they go in for that, it’s a no-brainer to also do the lens implants. That eliminates the cataract issue entirely. If I don’t do the implants now, cataracts are guaranteed to become a bigger problem later.

The good news is the lens implants will correct my severe nearsightedness problem. If it goes well I won’t need corrective lenses for distance, only for close-up.

I gotta say I’m not enthusiastic about having surgery on my eyes.

 

[mikeoso]

OD52, go get it! I had my cataracts done 12 years ago. The surgery was a bunny, the easiest and most painless surgery I'vd ever had, and the results were great. I had been getting new glasses every three months. After the surgery, I didnt need glasses at all for 10 years. Even now, at 70 years old, I only really need them for reading or fine work.

 

[JimK]

The good news is the lens implants will correct my severe nearsightedness problem. If it goes well I won’t need corrective lenses for distance, only for close-up.

That's what I thought.
There is also Near vision.
This is the area that is just beyond Close-up. Readers are not enough.
Frustrating.

I gotta say I’m not enthusiastic about having surgery on my eyes.

In at 0800...home by noon.
It's really easy surgery (as long as everything goes to plan).

 

[Alkali Ike]

It's really easy surgery (as long as everything goes to plan).

My mom (now passed) had cataract surgery on one eye. It was supposed to be easy peasy. But it didn’t go to plan. The new implant lens flipped upside down when it was inserted. She had to have emergency eye surgery that night in a regular hospital to fix it.