Did my cataract surgeon set my dominant eye for distance vision?
JUN 05, 2015
Question:
I just had cataract surgery on my left eye, which was set for distance. My doctor said if I got both eyes done for distance I will just need glasses to read. However, I am unable to focus on a computer screen with my corrected eye. The doctor now tells me I will lose my close vision to 6 feet out. I am considering having monovision to have the other eye corrected for near vision. I am not sure if they corrected my dominant or non-dominant eye for my distant vision. When I test for the dominate eye my left eye is dominate. Is this eye really dominant or is it now because I had it set for distance vision? I am confused.
Answer:
This is one of those questions that does not lend itself well to email answers. You need a comprehensive examination by your ophthalmologist and the opportunity to ask all of your questions, but I will try to help you learn more about this complicated question.
There are basically three distances of vision: far, intermediate (computer) and near. There is no intraocular lens made that gives excellent vision at all 3 distances. It sounds like you now have good distance vision in your left eye. The question seems to be what would be the wisest course for your right eye and how does that relate to your dominant eye.
The notion of setting one eye for distance and the other for near is called monovision. Some of us prefer to do a mini-monovision, whereby a person has good distance vision in one eye and intermediate (computer) vision in the other. Glasses might still be needed for small print.
We prefer to set the dominant eye for distance, but sometimes it gets reversed for one reason or another. As long as the difference between the two eyes is slight, most people can adapt to the subtle difference between the two eyes either way.
You need to thoroughly discuss this issue with your ophthalmologist. He/she can easily determine your dominant eye and can do a contact lens "test drive" to allow you to see what monovision and mini-monovision would be like.