Ophthalmologist after PRELEX

One of the remarkable things about my experience has been that prior to the surgery my vision with both eyes was 20/20- when measuring both eyes together. The vision in my left eye was 20/40- and the right eye was 20/20-. However, my experience has been that the quality of my vision since the surgery has improved enormously ? far better than I can remember it for many years. Colors simply "pop". The definition or contrast is truly remarkable. Road Signs, which before were visible, now simply jump out. My depth perception has increased enormously. The term high definition is passed around carelessly these days. But, that's the term that keeps coming to my mind when I think about the increased quality of vision that I have. One way of thinking about this is the difference in vision with polarizing sunglasses. Depth increases and quality improves.

All of us have had the experience of speaking with patients who have not realized how much their lifestyles have been compromised by their decreased vision. The improvement in my vision has been remarkable. Along with that improvement, has been an increase in my comfort level with certain activities. Night vision is the area that I notice this the most. I used to enjoy driving at night. However, over the years, I had not realized how much I had cut back on my night time driving. This was not a conscious decision, but simply an adaptation I made in response to the decreased quality of vision that I was experiencing. Now night time driving is again a delight. Road signs are crisp, depth is improved and rainy weather is no longer an issue. I am now more diligent in exploring with my patients what kind of compromises they have created in their own lives to adjust to the changes caused by cataracts.

• Contacts
One of the remarkable things about my experience has been vision without contacts. I have been a very successful contact lens wearer for over thirty years. In fact, I firmly believe that I was totally unaware of the presence of contacts in my eyes. However, the feeling of excellent vision without contacts is a remarkable experience. The best simile that I can think of is the difference between swimming with a bathing suit and skinny dipping. (Of course, these days it's more likely for me to be "chunky dunking".) The quality of my vision is superior than it was with my contacts, and the feeling of freedom and nothing on the surface of the eye is truly a great feeling.