cataract surgery and macular degeneration?

sabine · Newbie Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 3

Hello! My mother has been having problems with her vision for some time now. She suffers from macular degeneration and a cataract. Her doctor says this is due to her aging and he recommends cataract surgery. My brother says that cataract surgery will increase her macular degeneration even more. I know something must be done since her vision is getting worse every day. She is not able to normally perform usual everyday activities.

sacha · Newbie Joined: 01 Mar 2006 Posts: 2

Hello! Your mother's eye doctor was right; cataract and macular degeneration are developed with aging. Whether your mother will have cataract surgery or not, her macular degeneration will most probably progressively increase. There used to be certain opinions that removal of the cataract exposed the retina to certain wavelengths of light, damaging the retina and increasing the risk of macular degeneration. But, some newer studies concluded that most patients with mild to moderate degrees of age-related macular degeneration experienced significant improvements after cataract surgery. Since remove of the cataract allows more clear light to fall on the retina even damaged retina tissue will function better.

cataract surgery and macular degeneration?

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