Cataracts & Floaters
Does cataract surgery remove or cause floaters?
While floaters are sometimes associated with retina problems, most floaters are benign. Here is a patient with a benign age related floater, called posterior vitreous detachment, or PVD. Floaters are essentially clumps of protein. They are made from collagen. To the patient, it looks like a dark spot or squiggle in their vision that floats around. Moving along with their eye movements.
This patient’s floater, or PVD, was present prior to cataract surgery. You can see it here behind the patient’s cataract. Within the vitreous cavity in the back of the eye. When their floater first started, they noticed it all the time and it would drive them crazy. As humans we adapt. As they neuroadapted 6 months to a year later, they only occasionally notice it in their vision. The floater is still there. Unchanged. Equal in size. But they neuroadapted and don’t notice it much anymore.
The floater can be physical removed with vitrectomy surgery, or broken up into smaller pieces using laser (laser vitreolysis), but cataract surgery will not remove floaters. And so at the conclusion of the cataract surgery, it will still be there.
If a patient sees new floaters after cataract surgery, their doctor MUST examine the retina to make sure there that the retina is intact. A retinal tear or detachment needs to be ruled out.
However most of the time, the cause of floaters after cataract surgery is benign. The eye’s visual system has just been reset by cataract surgery, and the patient may re-see their old floater which they previously had adapted to. They may need some time to neuroadapt again. Also, the patient may be perceiving floaters in their vision from inflammation after their surgery. Sometimes microscopic particles from the cataract may be retained in the eye, and if the patient had weak zonules, these tiny cataract particles can float into the space behind the cataract, known as Berger’s space. These usually absorb over time. It’s also possible for small fragments of cataract to be retained in the eye which could cause both inflammation and floaters. If you experience new floaters after cataract surgery, have your surgeon examine your eye to find the cause.
💡 If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!
⚡ Dr. Omar Krad is a Board-Certified Ophthalmologist specializing in Cataract and Refractive Surgery. His practice is in Orange County, California.
To schedule a consultation, reach out to his team at: https://HopeCataract.com
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