Cataract Surgery and Lens Exchange

Almost every time we do cataract surgery, we implant artificial lenses. I am often asked, “can this lens be replaced if I don’t like it?”

Dr. Hyeck-Soo Son and colleagues published a study in the April 2024 edition of the Ophthalmology journal about lens exchanges. They looked at a very large number of lens exchanges, and they found that about 60% of patients achieved vision of 20/40 or better after the exchange.

That rate of success is WAY WAY lower than the rate of good vision after initial cataract surgery. This data undergirds what I usually tell patients: “We want your first cataract surgery to be your last eye surgery, because the risks of exchanges are much higher than the initial cataract surgery.”