Excimer Laser and Other Surgical Procedures
I can say that this is the most frequently asked question by our patients.
Especially 90% of the patients who apply for laser treatment come to us with the question of whether it is true that surgery is not performed in case of cataract in the future after laser treatment.
As it is known, laser is applied to the outermost transparent layer of the eye, which we call the cornea, whereas cataract is the opacification of the lens inside the eye and the surgery is applied to the lens inside the eye. So these two surgeries are completely independent of each other. Laser surgery has no obstacle to cataract surgery.
During cataract surgery, lenses are placed in the eye. The formulas used to determine the numbers of these lenses use measurements taken from the cornea. Since the cornea is reshaped in the laser, there are deviations in the standard formulas for determining the lens numbers in laser eyes; therefore, different formulas have been developed and used for determining the lens numbers of laser patients. In other words, laser does not constitute an obstacle for cataract surgery, but you should inform your doctor that you have had laser surgery before when determining the lens numbers. An experienced surgeon will detect an eye that has had laser surgery even if you do not tell him/her.
