Cataract surgery with dementia

jj-m

New here…. and I am finding this forum very helpful. My mom is 85 and is blind in one eye and they are recommending cataract surgery for her good eye. She is definitely in mid stage of dementia. I scheduled this procedure for her and am nervous if I am doing the right thing. The surgery will take 10 minutes and I will be with her 24-7 for that first week with drops etc. It is a combined drop so it's just one drop 4 times a day. I know the first day of surgery she will be very anxious because of the patch and not being able to see with that eye - it will be very blurry etc. They will not knock her out but she will be somewhat sedated. I feel very confident in the doctor etc. It's hard when you know there is cognitive issues and vision changes with this disease…..but I also heard how it can help people having this done and helping to prevent falls etc. and stimulates the brain area again. I don't want her cataract to get so bad and she has to have it at a later stage where she may not be cooperative. She has one good eye. Anyone experience this situation? Have many been happy they had their LO go through with this? I am struggling with it.

SiberianIris

Welcome!

My mom had combined cataract and glaucoma surgery several years ago before she was officially diagnosed with dementia. Knowing what I know now, she was probably late stage 3/early stage 4 at the time. It was definitely worth it her having the surgery.

Based on what you wrote, and because you will be with her 24-7 for the first week, I would definitely do the surgery if this was my mom.

jj-m

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/247366#Comment_247366

Thank you for your response… I keep going back and forth if I am doing the right thing for her. She is very anxious about not see well with the patch after surgery - they said it will be very blurry. Was that part bad - I feel she may need something to relax her.

H1235

I’m taking mom with stage 4 dementia in for surgery Wednesday. I am also very nervous. She doesn’t seem to be concerned, so that is good. Mom is in assisted living and I also did the combination drops. I’m concerned she might refuse the drops (she said she knows they are important) or insist on putting them in herself. It’s so hard to know what is right. I don’t think her eyes are that bad. To be blunt, will she live long enough for them to get to a point that they are bad. If I wait til then it will be too late for the surgery and she won’t be able to handle it. I’m hoping for the best.

harshedbuzz

@jj-m

Did you go over the aftercare instructions in detail with the surgeon?

DH's surgeon didn't offer the combination drops, in fact one of his eyes needed an additional drop for a time because of the depth of the removal. Are you sure the drops are for seven days? DH's were 3 days prior and 4 weeks post-op. Another member's surgeon used a time released implant that was inserted during surgery so drops weren't needed; his wife did quite well.

For DH, the patch was about 24 hours and then he wore safety glasses for a week as well as a cup protector overnight.

Since mom only has "one good eye", I would ask about the risk of complications. Retinal detachments can happen after this surgery and are more common in people who are very nearsighted. Dad had a retinal detachment in the early middle stages (undiagnosed at the time) and did not report it accurately— he told mom he needed new glasses and it was his doctor of optometry who recognized the detachment. Since time had passed between the detachment and diagnosis, the repair was not able to restore much vision. He had a second procedure and at best was able to detect light, shadow and movement in that eye.

He did have issues with falls that were sometimes related to vision. I see this with my mom who lost most vision (20/180) from optic nerve damage as well. He depth perception is terrible and it has led to falls.

Good luck
HB

harshedbuzz

cataract surgery - ALZConnected

SiberianIris

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/247370#Comment_247370

Mom was a little anxious but not terribly so, and she wasn't yet that far into her dementia where she couldn't remember what the patch was for. More importantly, she still had another good eye to see out of.

Since it's your mom's good eye being operated on, you are right to be concerned for the time the patch is over her good eye. Discuss this in detail with her doctors. I think it's a good idea to have something to keep her calm until the patch can be removed.

jj-m

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/247383#Comment_247383

Sorry about the confusion with eye drops. It's a combination of drops - just 4 times a day. I know we will have to do the drops for a few weeks and wear a patch at night time.

jj-m

I have had the same concerns and thoughts. And it is very hard to know what is right and you are wanting to make it better for them……and not have it get much worse down the road. Good luck with your mom.

jj-m

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/247383#Comment_247383

Thank you. It has been heavy and someone mentioned that going to a Retina Specialist to look at the eye would be helpful before the cataract surgery. I think since it doesn't have to be done right now…and it can wait - that is what I will do. I feel I need to wait and maybe get more information and opinions.