How long will a cataract implant lens last?

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Mark - 17 Oct 2007 20:02 GMT

Plastic generally has a tendency to get yellow and deteriorate with
time. With current cataract lens technology/materials, how long can
these implanted lenses last? What is the minimum number of years -
maximum number of years, average? Can these implanted lenses be
replaced if necessary? How complicated/risky is it to replace a
defective implanted lens? How long can the original lens shell that
holds the implanted lens last without developing transparency problems
or ripping/tearing? What percentage of initially successful cataract
surgery patients develop unexpected complications? Thanks in advance!

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Mike Tyner - 17 Oct 2007 20:05 GMT

> Plastic generally has a tendency to get yellow and deteriorate with
> time.

Some plastics do. In 25 years, I'm not aware of a single patient who had to
have IOL lenses exchanged because they turned yellow.

In general, surgeons are hesitant to remove IOLs that have been in place a
long time.

-MT

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Dan Abel - 18 Oct 2007 01:08 GMT

> Plastic generally has a tendency to get yellow and deteriorate with
> time.

Plastic generally yellows with exposure to sun. If you expose the
inside of your eye to direct sunlight, you need to worry more about
blindness than yellowing.

> With current cataract lens technology/materials, how long can
> these implanted lenses last?

My doctor told me that my IOL would be good for life, normally.

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fuqua24@hotmail.com - 19 Oct 2007 03:39 GMT

> In article <1192647721.123453.122...@t8g2000prg.googlegroups.com>,
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> My doctor told me that my IOL would be good for life, normally.

If you are in need of cateract surgery, where is how would you go
about reseraching doctors that perform this surgery? Also, do any of
you know much about macular degeneration? My grandfather suffers from
it and I want to know if there are any good preventative mesures that
can be taken.

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Dan Abel - 19 Oct 2007 17:53 GMT

> If you are in need of cateract surgery,

There are many causes for bad vision. Cataract is only one of them. I
believe that cataract is generally diagnosed by a doctor, not the
patient. In my case, my OD diagnosed the cataract when he was unable to
correct my vision using lenses. I was already seeing an opthalmologist
for something else, so I went to see him to discuss treatment options.

> where is how would you go
> about reseraching doctors that perform this surgery?

If you don't have an opthalmologist already, your OD will no doubt
suggest one. I also talked a lot to people at my work and my church who
had experience with opthalmologists.

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