Elderly father has concerns re cataract surgery - can anyone share their experience?

[SassyLemonFinch]

My 67 year old father is due for double cataract surgery on the NHS in about a month's time, but he's got a lot of misgivings about the outcome and whether or not the new lens will be 'worth' it. Since it's on the NHS the lens will be monofocal, and at the moment he's agreed to have it corrected for distance vision, with glasses required for close up.

To give some context, he's had one cataract for 5 years and the other for about 1-2 years, and since around the beginning of this year, his eyesight has deteriorated a lot, leaving him near-blind and reliant on my (his long-suffering daughter) help.

I won't go into the full details but in short, he's the type of guy who is stubborn to the point of it being detrimental to his health and he has a lot of distrust for doctors, believing they're all shills for big pharma/big tech and are generally incompetent, etc. He was supposed to have a cataract operation 3 years ago but had a bad experience with the surgeon and he basically walked out and the operation didn't take place. And he spent the next few years putting up with having good sight in only one eye, until this year when that eye got worse too. Sight loss has massively impacted his mental health, and he's also dealing with a lot of other age related health issues. He's also got a fear of lying flat for surgery and an inability to stay still, so the surgery will be under general anaesthetic, which makes it much more of a hassle. Plus, the discussion we had with the surgeon was pretty rushed and he wasn't very good at explaining how the new lens works to my dad. Basically, getting him to agree to have an operation at all has been like pulling teeth, and now that we're almost there, he just needs a little more reassurance/convincing that it will indeed be worth it.

So, if anyone here has had cataract surgery, I'd be really grateful if you could share some thoughts/info about your experience and how well you were satisfied with your vision afterwards. My dad's biggest concern is what he thinks of as the 'gap' in vision - i.e., with a lens fixed for distance, close-up stuff will be blurred unless you wear glasses. He doesn't mind wearing glasses but he has extremely high expectations and is pessimistic about the quality of the lens, and I think he's imagining that close-up vision will be much poorer than it actually is. So what I'd like to hear about is people's experience with the monofocal lens and how much of an inconvenience, if any, you find it. My dad had pretty good distance vision before his sight loss and mostly wore glasses for reading the crossword/laptop/working on model trains, so it seems to me that it won't be much of a different situation after his lenses are replaced. But like I said, he has a lot of misgivings and needs a lot of convincing, so any assurances I can pass onto him would be appreciated. Thank you for reading such a long post!

My dad has had both done now. In his 70’s. He was a farmer, still very outdoorsy capable doing everything he always did, now at 80.
He said it made a massive difference. Can still hit clay pigeons better than 20 year olds his sight is that good.
He has reading glasses when he can find them .

This thread from Gransnet might help: https://www.gransnet.com/forums/ask_a_gran/1352030-Cataracts-surgery?msgid=31332066

I had both mine done, separately, best thing I ever did. I now have perfect distance vision, so glasses no longer needed for driving, it also reduces glare at night. Can also see tv and cinema/theatre clearly. Still need glasses for reading but eyesight is no worse than before the cataract ops.

I didn't have to lie flat for the ops, was in a reclining chair, much like at dentists, very comfortable, was even given a heated/weighted blanket to help relax.

It was certainly a strange experience, with lots of flushing out, but completely painless and the results were almost instant, had to put eye drops in for couple of weeks but that was all.

I hope your Dad goes ahead with the ops and his results are as good as mine.

My Dad now 86 has had both cataracts done and also cornea grafts. His vision seems to fluctuate and he is generally unhappy with the results and says that he wishes he hadn’t had any of the procedures done. However, his consultant (Moorfields) is happy with the outcome. I guess it’s difficult to know what other people can see 🤷‍♀️

Elderly at 67 ??? Bloody hell that'll only be retirement age from 2026 ...

I had a cataract op on my right eye three years ago. I literally couldn’t see anything on the eye chart when I was referred. I had the op within weeks of being referred by the optician, needed the the lense in my glasses adjusted afterwards. It was a really straightforward procedure. There was six weeks of eyedrops after the op but given the state of the NHS I was impressed of the speed of the whole thing. I was 63 at the time.

Lol elderly at 67! My dad had it done at 84. He died at 85 but was so grateful for his sight. He stopped needing to wear glasses hed been wearing all his life

My mum drove us all silly 4 years ago when she was called to get hers done with every single sob story she came across-dry eyes/worse eyesight etc she still had the operation as she was told by her GP she couldn’t drive. It was a complete success. I recently asked her about it and she denies ever having any misgivings

Just what I was thinking. Since when has 67 been "elderly"?

My very elderly parents have had five of these between them (one had an eye done for a second time). They are huge readers, so have their lives back in many ways, and my dad at 88 is still driving competently.

So do encourage him. But obviously you can't make people do things ... My late FIL refused to have a hip operation, and was in pain, chair-ridden and miserable for his last ten years. Very sad.

Following because I have exactly the sane issue with cantankerous (and more elderly) dad, OP!

I had mine done in my 50s, previously I had one eye short sighted and one long sighted. I had fixed middle vision lenses on the nhs. After surgery I did miss my close up vision in one eye but soon adjusted. Close up IS blurred without glasses, but if youre used to wearing glasses anyway it doesnt matter.
I remember how blue the sky looked after surgery, cataracts make everything sort of brown tinted. Plus it was great not to see halos around street lights, car headlights etc, and I felt safe to drive at night again. I was nervous for the surgery which is weird but lasts minutes.

Both parents, both eyes done in recent years, ages mid 80s and early 90s. Experiences were different, and indeed there are options on methods surgeon can use, from what we were told.
One parent the first eye was problematic both during and post-op, so she was reluctant to get second done after that experience. Though did eventually after first eye improved and settled down, and 2nd op. there was no complication.

My dad's experience much smoother, despite being over 90. Sight vastly improved for reading, crosswords, TV etc.

Overall happy in both cases that the ops were done, and no regrets. But hugely different experiences, and showed us that there could be a potential for short-term complications that we weren't really expecting.

New glasses needed in both cases, but lenses were not so strong. There was a noticeable improvement in both close and distant vision for both of them, with and without the new glasses. Outcomes depend on the circumstances of each patient though I guess, and will vary. We've known a handful of other folk, and they all seem happy to have had the operation.
If your father goes ahead it will most likely improve his (and your) life, and of course he can get one eye done before deciding on the second.

Hope it all works out.

67 is elderly now? I must be getting old. I think of elderly as 80s.

I am older than your father and I’m not elderly! I had cataract surgery a few years ago and it has been a huge success, so much that I could throw away my glasses. If your father is anxious he can have a light sedation. Tell him to go for it … the young whipper snapper! Good luck.

My Dad had both of his done at 70, Father-in-law at 84. No issues and good outcomes for both.

Yes, I had mine done last year, both at once. I am absolutely thrilled at the results. I wasn't lying flat - it was like in a dentist's chair. They clamp your eyes open but put liquid over them all the time so you don't feel the need to try to shut them. It was a bit uncomfortable but not majorly so.
DIL is an optometrist and has worked as an assistant at cataract surgery. She said it's such a successful operation that they don't bother with a follow-up appointment now ( which is true). She massively put my mind at rest. Basically it's one day of sitting about with 20 minutes of being slightly uncomfortable which will change your life. My prescription has gone from -11 to -2. The nurses and the surgeon were super kind and efficient.
One thing - I was, as you can see, very short-sighted and they told me that most patients opt to go for long-sighted, but DIL advised me not to, because they find it hard to adjust after a lifetime of being short-sighted. I'm very glad I listened to her. So I can read without glasses, go about the house without them, but have glasses or contacts when I go out/drive. (With reading glasses over the top when necessary.)
Is your dad long- or short-sighted?
If you have any questions, please ask!

I have had one cataract done - it’s astonishing. Yes, I have to wear glasses to read, but it’s all crystal clear - before, it was like looking through fog, and I could only see in focus really really close to. I’d totally recommend it, and if your DF is having a general anaesthetic, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about.

Two friends younger than your father and parents and in-laws 19 years+ older than your father have all had cataract surgery.

It was easy, didn't hurt, felt "a bit weird", and was quick to recover from. Your Dad will be fine.

It's not good manners to refer to people in their 60s as elderly, @SassyLemonFinch . You'll put people's backs up.

I had both mine done last year, privately.
Excellent results no regrets.
My surgeon even managed to substantially improve my astigmatism but the placement of the incisions. Genius!

Double done 2 weeks apart in my 50s. I could see the time on the clock on a facing wall 10 mins after coming out of surgery with number one, having been basically blind for some time and having had distance glasses since I was 5.

I can't imagine what my sight would be like now if it hadn't been done. He needs to keep his drops up afterwards though, that is essential.

My gran had cataract surgery/lens replacement in the early 1980’s when she was 60 something. I think she was possibly one of the first to have this type of surgery? Anyway, she had one eye for distance, one eye for reading, i think it took a while to adjust but was a great success. It was a source of considerable smugness that she could still read the tiniest of print right up till she died at just short of 100.
It’s always going to be a bit daunting having some one chopping about at your eyes, but he will be fine OP!

it sounds like he's physiologically elderly even if he's not chronologically elderly.

couple of thoughts...
if he doesn't really want the operation he's probably not going to be satisfied with the results.
what is it about lying flat/keeping still that bothers him - it's not terribly common to do cataracts under GA and if he's unable to lie down because of something like heart failure or another medical reason he probably needs to be seen in an anaesthetic clinic before the day.

My elderly father 80+ got it but the retina detached. He had wavy eyesight for a year and could just about read. After that he didn’t get it in the other eye and has very poor eyesight now (could probably register as blind). So there is a risk it could make it worse

Just had both mine done 6 weeks apart. I was totally blind in one eye and the other was foggy. I now only need glasses for reading. It is amazing how good my sight is and didnt feel a thing! I am only 58 btw.
my dad got his done at 79 and thought it was best thing ever. He didnt need glasses, only for reading the paper and managed the very best with the drops post surgery.