Posterior Capsulotomy (YAG Laser)

What to Know About a Posterior Capsulotomy (YAG Laser)

If you've had cataract-related lens replacement surgery, you're no stranger to eye surgery. A laser treatment called posterior capsulotomy can be used to fix a potential side effect of cataract surgery. It's a quick procedure that can be completed in about five minutes in the ophthalmologist's office.

What Is a Posterior Capsulotomy?

After having a lens replacement, you may undergo a treatment called a YAG laser posterior capsulotomy to help eliminate scar tissue.

A lens is located inside your eye, behind the iris and pupil. This transparent lens aids in focusing light onto the retina. The layer of light-sensitive cells lining the back of your eye is called the retina. Together, these components enable us to perceive.

That lens gets clouded and opaque when you develop cataracts. Vision problems brought on by cataracts include hazy vision, double vision, light sensitivity, trouble seeing at night, and fading of colors.

A cataract can only be removed through cataract surgery. The hazy lens is removed during cataract surgery and is swapped out for an intraocular lens, an artificial lens. Artificial lenses cannot develop cataracts, although after having this operation, some people may have vision blurriness once more.

The lens capsule, a thin membrane, surrounds your eye's lens. Your surgeon will insert the new lens into the lens capsule after removing the cataract lens. Occasionally, a condition known as posterior capsule opacification causes the lens capsule to become hazy. In certain cases, posterior capsule opacification is referred to as a "secondary cataract" and shares many of the same symptoms as a cataract.

A posterior capsulotomy is used to treat posterior capsule opacification. YAG laser surgery was used in this procedure. A tiny hole will be made by your doctor in the clouded lens capsule. This enables light to pass through and restores your vision.

Posterior Capsulotomy Procedure

The in-office posterior capsulotomy technique lasts for around five minutes.

A technician will measure your eyes and then dilate them when you first arrive at the doctor's office the day of your procedure. You will be seated at the laser slit lamp in the laser room. Similar to a standard slit lamp, which is a microscope with a bright light that enables the ophthalmologist to examine your eyes more carefully, a laser slit lamp is a tool used for similar purposes.

Your doctor will administer numbing eye drops since you will be awake during the treatment. The surgeon will use a specific kind of contact lens to focus the laser on the scar tissue surrounding your implant after numbing your eyes. Most likely, the treatment won't cause you any pain.

Posterior Capsulotomy Recovery

Depending on how well you recover from the procedure, your doctor may advise you to have a companion drive you home. You must be able to complete all of your everyday responsibilities in any other case. Your doctor may also advise you to use anti-inflammatory eye drops for a week or so.

For the rest of the day, you might notice some floaters in your field of vision. After a day or two, your vision will become crystal clear.

Posterior Capsulotomy Side Effects

The posterior capsulotomy procedure carries risks, just like any other operation.

Detached retina. The condition known as detached retina occurs when the retina separates from the back of the eye. As a result, the retina stops functioning, which causes hazy vision. Surgery is required to reconnect the retina if it becomes detached. The following are signs of a detached retina:

• Seeing “stars” or flashes of light

• Noticing a marked increase of floaters in the eye. Some floaters are expected after a posterior capsulotomy, but they should not get worse after the first day.

• Shadows in your side vision, also called peripheral vision

• A gray “curtain” that covers part of your field of vision

Increase in eye pressure. You have a variety of fluids in your eyes, including aqueous and vitreous humor. Your eye maintains a regular, constant level of these fluids when it is healthy. A common problem is a slight rise in ocular pressure. Glaucoma may result from elevated eye pressure, commonly known as ocular hypertension.

Ocular hypertension, which has harmed the optic nerve, is the cause of the disease glaucoma. The optic nerve carries messages from the eye to the brain, and injury to the nerve could cause blindness.

Ocular hypertension frequently goes unnoticed until it develops into glaucoma. Glaucoma signs and symptoms include:

• Severe pain in the eyes

• Severe pain in the forehead

• Headaches

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Eye redness

• Seeing rainbows or halos of light

• Blurry vision

• Decreased vision

Ocular hypertension is treated with prescription eye drops. Keep in touch with your doctor and show up at all post-operative checkups because early detection and treatment can avoid glaucoma.

A posterior capsulotomy has additional risks and adverse effects, such as eye swelling or the intraocular lens slipping through the hole the surgery made in the lens capsule.

Will I Need a YAG Laser Posterior Capsulotomy?

Only a side effect of cataract surgery results in posterior capsule opacification, a clouding of the lens capsule. It's not a problem if you've never had cataract surgery. Not all cataract patients get posterior capsule opacification. In the first two to five years following cataract surgery, 20% to 50% of individuals will have it. Children are much more likely than adults to require it after cataract surgery.

Similar to cataracts, posterior capsule opacification typically exhibits the same symptoms. It's crucial to call your doctor if you start to have cataract symptoms once more so they can examine you. A slit-lamp test will enable them to identify posterior capsule opacification.

Scientists are now developing surgical methods to stop posterior capsule opacification, which could eventually render posterior capsulotomies unnecessary.