Monovision and the Dominant Eye

My right eye requires cataract surgery and I'm considering monovision intraocular implants (setting one eye for distance vision and one for near), with left eye being done in a few years or as soon as that small cataract is covered by insurance. Can you tell me if the success of monovision is dependent on correcting for distance in the dominant eye?

Monovision is a popular method of maximizing distance and near vision after cataract surgery by selecting different intraocular lens powers for each eye. As you seem to understand, one eye (usually the dominant eye) is focused for distance and the non-dominant eye is focused for near vision (reading or computer).

The success of monovision requires achieving very good distance vision in the dominant eye and choosing a target near vision lens which does not differ too much from the distance eye. Many ophthalmologists advise a compromise, called "mini-monovision," where the distance eye vision is maximized and the near vision is slighted just a little to make it easier on the patient to adjust to this difference between the two eyes.

If the difference between the eyes is too great, the patient may have double vision or blurred vision, especially at night. The good news is that monovision and mini-monovision can be test-driven by trying soft contact lenses before cataract surgery.