Best Cataract Surgery Lenses for Pool

I had both lenses replaced in 2015. Today it is still the single most important medical procedure in my lifetime. Poor eyesight at birth, I learned to play pool while wearing contact lenses. Due to age I had to stop wearing the contacts and essentially stopped playing pool because of poor results with glasses. Medical technology and the surgical process has improved since I had mine done.

You only get one opportunity. Spend whatever time and $ it takes to discuss in detail what results you expect with as many surgeons as you can.
 
kitsap said:
I had both lenses replaced in 2015. Today it is still the single most important medical procedure in my lifetime. Poor eyesight at birth, I learned to play pool while wearing contact lenses. Due to age I had to stop wearing the contacts and essentially stopped playing pool because of poor results with glasses. Medical technology and the surgical process has improved since I had mine done.

You only get one opportunity. Spend whatever time and $ it takes to discuss in detail what results you expect with as many surgeons as you can.
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Best post here.
 
How bad is your astigmatism?

My astigmatism was borderline whether or not to go for toric lenses. I chose standard distance lenses figuring I could correct if needed and I am happy I did. For a while after the surgery, my eyesight was razor sharp (truly amazing). Over the past year, my acuity has become quite variable. Mostly, I see double. Road signs can be hard to read. But at times, I am 20/20. My doctor thinks I might be be experiencing variable hydration, but who knows. My point is that I would have been disappointed if I had spent a lot of money for specialty lenses if my vision would have been similarly variable. Regardless, the surgery was so worthwhile. In hindsight, I probably should not have been driving before the surgery. For pool, I can finally see the balls that I am shooting at. For golf, now the other guys in my group rely on me to find their ball in the rough. All the stuff people say about seeing colors differently are absolutely true.
 
luke said:
Is there a specific brand of lens that works best? Who would you recommend in Austin, TX?
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You get several choices, I opted for both eyes being distance corrected with a mostly fixed focus lens.

Gina Cottle, Lake Austin Eyes, performed my surgery and post op.
 
Korsakoff said:
...still in the early stages for cataracts. Hopefully, it will be even more refined by the time I need it.
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Ditto. Age 77 and never wore glasses (except readers), and just starting to see ’starburst’ headlights at night.
 
I started wearing contacts / glasses when I turned 25. I have a bad astigmatism I had cataract surgery 6 months ago and opted for the best multifocal lens. set me back $7300 out of pocket. Best money I ever spent. I can see everything better. No glasses. Helped my pool game. Now if I could find a surgery to help my stroke. Only downside is some starbursts and halos at night. That is getting better.
 
My own research has led me to the Eyehance Toric II for a monofocal lens that deals with astigmatism. I would like to discuss using a monofocal in one eye and a multifocal in the other eye with my ophthalmologist.
 
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I had mine done10 years ago for cataracts and astigmatism. I shoot pool with my right eye only (like a rifle) by choice. Had flexible focus lenses in both eyes. The left eye was flexible for close up and the right eye flexible for distance. Since the surgery i do not need glasses for anything but the extra fine print on medicine directions...lol. For pool, this is perfect for me. About 3 years ago I was diagnosed with macular degeneration and had eye injections for 2 years. Doctor stopped injections a year ago but I have exams every 6 months. Vision is about 25/20 in both eyes. Not bad for being 80 years old.

This is extremely important....ask everyone who is the best and the worst for this surgery. My good friend, manager of COTSCO eye glass dept, gave me the best information based on being in the business. I was lucky enough to go to Dr, Loden in Nashville. If you have to travel for your surgery, have a vacation in Nashville. He is the major player in the game and has many options for treating eye problems. If you have any questions just ask here or PM me.
 
I do not want to be a party pooper. But, make sure you understand and discuss the risks involved with your surgeon. No medical procedure is without risk. The good surgeons perform hundreds of these refractive lens exchange (RLE) procedures each year. Every surgeon has patients that achieve less than optimal results. Know what these are in advance.
 
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An update. After discussing with my surgeon I am going with a monofocal Technis Eyehance Toric lens to get the best compromise and vision. Readers will be necessary for close up work but intermediate and distance should be very good.
 
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luke said:
An update. After discussing with my surgeon I am going with a monofocal Technis Eyehance Toric lens to get the best compromise and vision. Readers will be necessary for close up work but intermediate and distance should be very good.
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hope all goes well and
"you can see clearly"
(y)
 
Tennesseejoe said:
I had mine done10 years ago for cataracts and astigmatism. I shoot pool with my right eye only (like a rifle) by choice. Had flexible focus lenses in both eyes. The left eye was flexible for close up and the right eye flexible for distance.
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Tennesseejoe said:
Since the surgery i do not need glasses for anything but the extra fine print on medicine directions...lol.
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Why is it that the instructions on medicines for people just out of EYE SURGERY are invariably tooo small for them to read ?!?!?!
Tennesseejoe said:
For pool, this is perfect for me.
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I had both lenses set for infinity focus with astig and trefoil corrections on the cornea. At 70 YO, I can now see as close as 3 feet to infinity in essentially perfect focus. I only need glasses for reading (books) and at the computer screen its sort of use them or not.
 
After rediscovering a world filled with bright colors and seeing clearly again, I appreciate the gift of vision so much more
than before. So much so that it made me start to wonder about the gift of hearing. I take that for granted too because I
do not have any hearing problems but so many people even younger than me require hearing assistance. Why is it we
have to start losing something before we realize how precious it was to ever start with? And with pool, okay sometimes
we have better days than others and can’t figure out why. The truth is a bad day of playing pool is better than not at all.
 
Bavafongoul said:
After rediscovering a world filled with bright colors and seeing clearly again, I appreciate the gift of vision so much more
than before. So much so that it made me start to wonder about the gift of hearing. I take that for granted too because I
do not have any hearing problems but so many people even younger than me require hearing assistance. Why is it we
have to start losing something before we realize how precious it was to ever start with? And with pool, okay sometimes
we have better days than others and can’t figure out why. The truth is a bad day of playing pool is better than not at all.
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Good post. Enjoy every breath of air. And every rack of pool. Enjoy what you have while it’s working. No re-runs
 
It has been 3 months since I had Cataract surgery. Everything is brighter and distance is 20/20. Close up is 20/30 and the I need readers for small print. It is a relearning experience but I can see the object ball very clearly. Adapting from near to far is a learning process as things settle down. I had the Eyehance toric lenses implanted. My non dominant eye is slightly less corrected to help with close up vision. Fine cut shots are much better.
 
I had both eyes done with distance lens in both. I see 20/20 in both eyes and see more than adequately up close. I can see if the rack is tight :) Works great for me. I wouldn't go with one distance and one up close. You loose depth perception a lot, driving is not easy. It's like you are driving with one eye shut.
 
I agree. Both of mine are distance only. Having one distance and one for up close sounds confusing. I can see my dashboard and computer screen ok.
 
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