What are the risks of cataract surgery when wet and dry AMD are present?
MAR 03, 2014
Question:
My husband has dry AMD in both eyes and wet AMD in one eye; the eye with wet AMD also has a cataract. What are the risks of cataract surgery when wet and dry AMD are present? Is there a way to tell how much of his loss of vision clarity and need for more light is due to the cataract rather than to the AMD?
Answer:
When someone has age-related macular degeneration, we don’t expect there to be any greater or particular additional risks from cataract surgery. This holds for both the wet and the dry subtypes. The biggest concern, as you alluded to, is that the vision potential of an eye may be compromised by macular damage. We can get a general sense of how much of the vision loss is associated with the cataract by using different measures of potential acuity. Your husband’s surgeon will incorporate (and should explain) that piece of the puzzle in the risk-to-benefit analysis for your husband’s surgery.