Any opticians / ophthalmologists here? Lens replacement eye surgery question

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Hello,

I am 50 and have myopia -6.50/-7.50, presbyopia +1.50 and a bit of astigmatism. I have healthy eyes otherwise but am fed up of relying on glasses or contact lenses.

I am considering lens replacement surgery to correct my vision and am interested to hear the opinion of eye medical (sorry if this is not the right word!). If I go ahead, I will have my operation with Sheffield Vision Centre, which is linked to the NHS. I went through the tests and was told my eyes were very healthy and surgery would be fine but equally, I could manage perfectly well with glasses/contact lenses for a few more years.

I guess if Sheffield Vision Centre were not NHS-linked I'd be having more of a sell, but the surgeon I talked too seemed quite indifferent to whether I went ahead with the operation or not. Not in a rude way at all, more in a "it's your choice" kind of way.

Any thoughts?

Can anybody help?

I've had it done. Its was great for me as I was extremely short sighted - 13. I still have to wear glasses now -3 . It doesn't help with an astigmatism either.

Oh, buy I was told the operation would correct my astigmatism? I think it can be done now. What was the post-operation period like? Thanks.

I had it done, I had cataracts and was -9 with an astigmatism. I still need reading glasses as I'm -2.0 in one eye +1.0 in the other, no astigmatism now.
I don't think they can aim to correct you perfectly but my vision is so much better than it was I couldn't see anything without my glasses on.

I have had both eyes done due to cataracts, I still need glasses but it’s a huge improvement.
Recovery time is a few hours, a lens replacement takes about twenty minutes.

I must have misunderstood the consultant. He said I would be able to read without glasses, except if I wanted to read for longer periods of time. From that, I understood he meant that I'd be able to focus on the short distance without glasses? Is that not the case?

Don’t have my done without checking out this group ‘optical express ruined my life’. Honestly, if you’re managing with glasses, leave them well alone. Unfortunately I have personal experience of this. Worst decision of my life.

Oh dear, that sounds terrible, I'm sorry to hear about that. What went wrong in your case, if you don't mind me asking?

I have a similar prescription (-7.00, +2.00 and some astigmatism) and looked into it but after a lot of reading and researched, sadly decided against it, simply because the worse your original eyesight the higher the chances of having problems post op..sometimes uncorrectable problems.
I chatted to it with my optician who said it's fabulous IF it goes perfectly (he has a very similar prescription to mine) but he wouldn't risk it.

I hate wearing glasses, and my eyesight prevented me from my dream job...but I think eyes are too precious ro risk anything going wrong!

Multifocal lenses are available now, that can give you a range of vision without having to wear glasses, BUT they don't work for everyone. They are a trade off and usually reduce the distance vision you get and can increase glare.

Have you tried multifocal contact lenses yet? The optics are very similar to mutlifocal lens implants.

If you haven't - make an appointment to try some and then see how you vision in a range of situations. You'll need to try them for a few days.
I would also try out a monovision situation - where you have one eye for distance and one for near.
You can also have a distance prescription only, but this will mean that your reading vision with lenses in is significantly worse than you currently have (I wouldn't recommend this option until you have cataracts or are older).

The risks of lens replacement are higher than with laser surgery as you're going deeper into the eye. However, you will get cataracts and eventually need to have the surgery anyway. Being younger than the usual cataract patient, you have a better healing response.

It is a very personal choice, which is why the surgeon was so non-committal.
Would I have it done with your prescription - probably not, but I don't find varifocal contacts clear enough for driving at night - but lots of people do.

Hm, some food for thought here...