Just got mine done. Right eye was about three weeks ago, and the left a week later, so I am in recovery mode still. My cataracts didn’t bother me much until last August when driving from the UP to Virginia I noticed that I was seeing double center lines on the road, then began unconsciously removing my glasses and closing that eye when reading.

Went to the optometrist for my regular eye exam in October. He asked “what the heck happened to your right eye.”? Apparently I went from a tiny cataract to pretty severe in a year’s time.

I decided to have the cataract procedure done in Tucson, where we spend the winter, so I don’t impact my summer shop and play time in Michigan.

I opted for laser assisted surgery, which isn’t covered by Medicare Advantage, or, I think most other health care policies. Regular “surgeon with a scalpel”, conventional surgery is covered under all health care policies, under the Affordable Health Care Act, as are conventional lenses and up to two pair of glasses.

I also opted for premium lenses, which aren’t covered, either.

Scheduling here in Tucson wasn’t an issue. There are literally dozens of specialists here that take care of these old peoples issues.

I did a little internet searching to find a provider with good reviews. There are always some complaints when doing this, so you have to sort out the entitled complaints from what might be genuine issues. I am happy with the provider I selected. The practice has at least three optometrists and, I think, four ophthalmologist’s on staff.

The first appointment was a week after my initial inquiry, and was a two past deal: initial exam and review of results with a senior ophthalmologist, followed br a detailed eye measurement session with the technical staff. There was a slight hiccup, as, when measuring my eyeballs for the new lens, they determined that my eyes are elongated, which increases retina separation risk. They contacted a retina specialist at a different clinic, and scheduled me for a sign off exam a couple days later, before the scheduled surgery.

The initial surgery was the next week, which, of course a little scary. There was a zoom call with the actual surgeon, who had reviewed the exam and test results, and recommended a Vivity lens rather than the Panoptix (trifocals) lens I had selected. The Panopticon a v Vivity give the best full range vision. There is also a Toric lens which is a grade above standard, but can’t optimize both distance and near vision.

The surgery was uneventful. The anesthesiologist puts you in “twilight” mode, so you do know what’s happening. Actual surgery takes maybe twenty minutes. There is a day after and one to two week follow up exam for each eye Vision is poor for a couple of days , but gradually clears up. You wear a plastic shield for a week, at night, so you don’t scratch. Buy your own tape, and clean your face with a cotton patch and rubbing alcohol, as the tape I received with the post-op kit doesn’t stick to oily skin. The kit included all of the drops I needed. Take the drops for four weeks, first three times per day, then two. The drops are a steroid.

I thing my vision is still improving after three weeks, but I suspect I will end up with reading glasses. Distance and mid range is fine without glasses in my right eye. The left is a week behind. She optimized my dominant (right) eye for distance and the left more for intermediate.

It’s still strange to be driving and walking around without glasses. I got my first pair in 1965, and haven’t functioned without them ever since.

The cost was a little less than $3000/eye, although I haven’t received any billing yet.

Standard surgery and conventional lenses are, I think, around $300/eye.