Until recently, the standard of care for cataract surgery has been to operate on one eye and then wait days to weeks to operate on the other eye. A valid concern is the potential risk of complications leading to loss of vision. Recent studies have demonstrated the safety of same day bilateral cataract surgery. In addition to safety, there are other benefits to having both eyes done together.
A recent study1 examined 1335 patients that underwent immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery. No cases of infection occurred. An intraoperative adverse event occurred in only 14 cases. Of these, the most common event was a tear of the posterior capsule (the thin membrane behind the cataract). All of these eyes had an uncorrected distance visual acuity of 20/25 or better at the final post-operative follow up.
Delaying surgery on the second eye has been associated with an increased risk of falls. Depending on what a patient’s glasses prescription was before surgery, often after surgery is done on the first eye there is a significant difference in the vision between the two eyes and this can reduce stereopsis, or depth perception. One study2 looking at nearly 30,000 patients found that the risk of a fall requiring hospitalization was highest between the first and second eye surgeries. Another study3 found that the risk of falls was reduced by half after the second eye surgery.
Same-day cataract surgery also has the benefits of requiring less time for surgery and follow up visits. Like any surgery, cataract surgery has certain risks. However, the safety and benefits of same day surgery continues to be borne out in the medical literature.
Your ilumin team is proud to offer same-day sequential cataract surgery. For more information on the benefits of this procedure, click here, or schedule your appointment online!
1 Raju D, Hannan SJ, Belovari M, et al. Immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery in patients with bilateral visually significant cataracts. Clin Ophthalmol. 2024;18:1515-1523.
2 Meuleners LB, Fraser ML, Ng J, Morlet N. The impact of first- and second-eye cataract surgery on injurious falls that require hospitalisation: a whole-population study. Age Ageing. 2014;43(3):341–346.
3 Keay L, Ho KC, Rogers K, et al. The incidence of falls after first and second eye cataract surgery: a longitudinal cohort study. Med J Aust. 2022;217(2):94–99.
Dr. Peter Simone is a graduate of Rockhurst University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry; and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he was a member of the MD-PhD Scholars Program and graduated with a PhD in cancer research and MD with distinction. He completed his internal medicine residency at Florida Atlantic University, and completed his residency in ophthalmology at the University of South Carolina. He served as Academic Chief Resident during his final year.
