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Eye Care Archive (Expert Forum)
Ghosting after cataract surgery
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Ghosting after cataract surgery
by Simmen, Jan 19, 2007 12:00AM
I had cataract surgery in one eye 10/03 and received a monofocal lens with a focus set for near vision which matches vision in other eye. I also had astigmatism corrected at time of surgery. I continue to wear glasses, which is fine. I see well only in bright sunlight; my vision decreases as light diminishes to the point of very bad vision at night. I learned thru this forum that this is a result of ghosting. Right now, overall vision is ok bec my other "good" eye can compensate altho nighttime is difficult. My doctor would not acknowledge my problem, said I have 20/20 vision. He did prescribe Alfaghan which I learned, thru this forum, how this helps me. At my last exam, 10/05, I showed him that I could not read in the low light of the exam room with the prescription he just wrote. He couldn't understand and could do no more for me.
Question: Is the astigmatism responsible for the ghosting? Did the surgical procedure to correct the astig cause this? My "good" eye also has a cataract but less astigmatism. I will never have it done unless I know the reason for the ghosting.
Thank you for any answers.
Question: Is the astigmatism responsible for the ghosting? Did the surgical procedure to correct the astig cause this? My "good" eye also has a cataract but less astigmatism. I will never have it done unless I know the reason for the ghosting.
Thank you for any answers.
Doctor's Answer
by Forum-OD-MP, Jan 19, 2007 12:00AM
there's no way for me or anyone here to know if astigmatism is the cause of the ghosting or not. nor is there any way for me or anyone else know if the surgical procedure to correct the astigmatism "caused" anything.
i know halos is like some light reflecting like you see a -god-?
is ? ghosting, like you see a ghost along side with the object you saw?
a "halo" is generally a "ring" of unwanted light seen to be around a light source. a good example of this is when you are meeting an oncoming car in traffic at night when its raining or foggy. there appears to be a white or multicolored "ring" around the other car's headlights. people with the complaint of "halos" see a similar ring under all or most conditions, not just foggy/rainy ones. unrelated to any "god".
ghosting is a type of blur in which objects (not light sources) appear to be nearly doubled or slightly superimposed but a little off. some people call this a form of "double vision", but its really not to be confused with TRUE double vision (or "diplopia"). ghosting is also known as "monocular diplopia" and is most commonly caused by uncorrected astigmatism (but also less frequently by decentered optics, or tilted optics, or poor optical quality or corneal edema...there are more...). unrelated to any "ghost".
The way I understand my problem is that there are several focal points to my vision process and that the Alphagan by contracting my pupil, cuts out some of the focal points. That's why I thought the astigmatism influenced this. Is this correct or am I way off?
Thank you.
not really. you're already doing it (alphagan).
"I learn from this forum that the multifocal lenses result in ghosting but I haven't read this about monofocal."
*ANY* implant can cause ghosting/halos. multifocals are more likely to do it, but monofocals can do it as well.
"The way I understand my problem is that there are several focal points to my vision process and that the Alphagan by contracting my pupil, cuts out some of the focal points."
YES.
"That's why I thought the astigmatism influenced this. Is this correct or am I way off?"
astigmatism can have an effect, yes. bot so can other factors (placement of the implant, centering of the implant, optics of the implant, Rx of the implant, etc etc). "astigmatism" is not the only factor.
I will think long and hard before ever considering surgery for my other eye. Too many variables there for ghosts and I seem to be susceptible.
This problem has actually gotten a worst over time. I am scheduled to have Lasik surgery to correct astigmatism in both eys in March. Can anyone tell me possible sources of my problem with these rings and what I can have done to correct it. Could the lens be poorly centered? Will Lasik correct it? etc. It's very annoying, believe me.