Will I be able to have cataract surgery after LASIK?

Yes you will still be able to have cataract surgery after LASIK. The procedure requires more detailed measurements and calculations of your eye, which your experienced cataract surgeon should be able to perform. What is important is that the eye clinic you visit has the appropriate and updated equipment and technology to make the necessary precision calculations for you.

Also, do remember that even after LASIK, the rest of your eye retains its original length and characteristics, so if you had high myopia before LASIK, you will still retain the risks pertaining to high myopia such as peripheral retinal degeneration, macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts. Hence, it is important to continue to have regular eye checks with your eye doctor after LASIK to watch out for the early onset of these 'silent' eye conditions.

Many of these conditions, if present, can be treated at the same time as cataract surgery if needed. So always have a thorough eye exam with your trusted eye doctor.

Hope that helps!

Dr Claudine Pang

D2D. Yes, many patients who had LASIK performed when they were younger develop cataracts as they age. They will certainly be able to undergo cataract surgery to improve their vision.

However, as LASIK changes the curvature and power of the cornea, conventional biometric measurements of the eye very often lead to inaccurate refractive outcomes for this group of patients after cataract surgery.

My preceptor Professor Douglas Koch from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, was the first eye surgeon to discover the changes in the biometric measurements for former LASIK patients, and that additional calculations are required to accurately customize the refractive outcomes for such patients who are about to undergo cataract surgery.

At my clinic, we have the necessary advanced biometric technologies and equipment, as well as the know-how to calculate and customize the refractive outcomes for patients who underwent LASIK and are now going for cataract surgery.