Study shows cataract surgery is beneficial in patients with good preoperative visual acuity

This retrospective review included patients with corrected distance visual acuity of 20/20 or better in both eyes before cataract surgery: 28 patients with unilateral cataract and an IOL in the fellow eye; 31 with bilateral cataract. Each patient completed a Visual Function 14 questionnaire before and after surgery. Functional vision improved significantly in both groups after surgery. 

Patients with cataract in one eye and an IOL in the contralateral eye before surgery had a mean improvement of 12.2 in the VF-14 score. Patients with cataract in both eyes had a mean improvement of 14.5 in the VF-14 score (P<.0001).

This finding shows that arbitrary corrected distance visual acuity thresholds of worse than 20/20 cannot always be used to determine who will benefit from cataract surgery.