A cataract surgery should only be performed if the patient's quality of vision is troubled significantly by the cataract to warrant a surgery. Because every surgery its risks, no matter how small or minute the risks may be, therefore the decision to undertake surgery must be carefully considered.
Cataract surgery itself has very small risks and has an excellent safety profile. Hence there are not many reasons to avoid cataract surgery completely. Usually we like our patients optimized for surgery so that they can achieve the best outcome.
By that, I mean that we tend to avoid doing any surgery if patients have concomitant eye infections or any problems of the surface of the eye. For example, if patients have eyelid infection or dry eyes, I would treat the infection and dry eyes first so that patients have a good outcome after cataract surgery.
Patients with pre-existing weak corneas may also be at risk of damaging the cornea further because of cataract surgery. Even in such patients, they may still be able to undergo cataract surgery if the surgeon takes special steps to perform the surgery delicately to avoid further injury to the cornea. It is important to be aware of such situations so that the appropriate steps can be taken to optimise the cornea and still achieve good post-cataract outcome.
Hope that helps!
Dr Claudine Pang
