Does having laser eye surgery affect cataract surgery in later life?

One of the concerns my patients raise with having laser eye surgery, is that it may prevent them having required cataract surgery when they are older. This is a myth but it is true that your surgeon must plan your cataract surgery differently if you have had laser eye surgery.

The biggest difference is in the calculation of the power of the new artificial lens that is to be inserted. Typically different formulae must be used and ideally, your previous spectacle prescription prior to your laser surgery should be known. That's why it is important to hang on to a copy of your old glasses or contact lens script. I myself have both a digital and paper copy of my old glasses script :) With newer formulae, based on an audit at my practice at Vision Eye Institute Chatswood, the accuracy of lens calculation is now nearly as precise in people whom have had laser correction compared to people that haven't. And it will only get better still.

So if you are below the age of 40 and therefore unlikely to get cataract for 20 years, you can be quite reassured that having laser eye surgery will probably not affect the accuracy of your future cataract surgery. Hang on to your record of your old glasses script though!