While many people experience significantly improved vision almost immediately after cataract surgery, most need to go through a period of adjustment. Seeing halos after the procedure is a normal part of the healing process. 

Everything You Need to Know about Healing After Cataract Surgery

• Seeing halos after your cataract surgery? Don’t panic…
• The vital connection between cataract removal, eyesight, and your brain
• A quick word about secondary cataracts

Seeing halos after your cataract surgery? Don’t panic

Seeing halos around lights is one of the common symptoms of cataracts. So, if you’ve had an operation and you can still see them, It’s natural to be concerned. However, rest assured that this is completely normal and usually goes away within the first two to three weeks.

But why does it happen? Surely if the diseased lens has been removed then those pesky visual issues should go away, right?

The simple answer to this is yes, they will go away. But it might not be immediate. This is because vision isn’t just about your eyes. It’s a complex function between the eyes and the brain.

To understand more about why you might be seeing halos after your cataract surgery we need to delve a little deeper into how eyesight works.

The vital connection between cataract removal, eyesight, and your brain

OK, so a simple way to understand vision is this:

• Light enters the eye.
• It flows through the lens and hits the retina (a thin layer of light-receiving cells) at the back of the eye.
• The retina converts these light signals into electrical signals.
• These are passed to the optic nerve that transmits them to the brain.
• The brain translates these signals into the images that we see.

Clever, huh!

However… This process has taken your whole lifetime to hone and change. Much as a baby has to create the eye-brain connection to allow them to decipher the world around them, when you have a cataract operation you too need to re-learn the process.

Your brain has become accustomed to altered light flowing through the eye because of the cataract. Therefore it needs to adjust to the new, unimpeded signals that it’s receiving. And this may take a week or so.

Another reason some people see halos after cataract surgery is when more advanced intraocular lenses are fitted. It’s a well-known side-effect for those who have bi or, more frequently, tri-focal lenses. But don’t worry… The brain will take a few days or weeks to decipher these new messages and the halos will gradually disappear.

A quick word about secondary cataracts

One other reason you might see halos after cataract surgery is a condition that’s mistakenly called “secondary cataracts”. Rest assured, cataracts cannot return once removed. But what can happen is a condition known as posterior capsule opacification. 

This happens when proteins in the eye clump together on the tiny piece of the lens capsule that’s left in the eye for the intraocular lens to be attached to. This can cause you to start seeing halos around lights and can occur at any time after cataract surgery—months or even years later…

Again, it’s no cause for concern. Your surgeon can get rid of the problem with a simple, five-minute procedure known as YAG laser. Once done. It won’t need doing again.

Get All the Info about Cataract Surgery Recovery from the Experts at the WBEC

One of the things people have told us they appreciate about our post-op care is how well we explain what you should expect. We don’t want our patients worrying about the natural visual effects that are likely to occur—such as seeing halos for a few days or weeks while your eyes and brain make new connections.

It’s just one of the many reasons that we’re the go-to center of excellence for everything cataract-related.

Start your cataract treatment journey at https://westbocaeyecenter.com/services/cataract-surgery/ and call today to arrange a consultation.