This is a reposting of an old Fouling Shot article of mine entitled "Old Fart Eyes"
In 2008 I had a retinal detachment in my dominant right eye, caused by a workplace injury. This was repaired using vitrectomy and internal drainage in which a gas bubble was injected into my eye to hold the retina in place, while its edges were tacked in place with a laser. The retinal repair was completely successful, but the eye developed a cataract, removed a year later.
During the cataract surgery I had an interoccular implant of intermediate focus inserted into my right eye. The specific lens I had implanted is an AcrySof acrylic foldable IOL with UV filter by Alcon Laboratories, Model SN60AT of power 21.5D having a Theta-T length of 13mm and a ThetaB optic of 6mm, which was implanted in 2009. Objects from 20-40 inches away are in sharp focus. I use a slight correction for distance and for precision close work. I can read the Wall Street Journal under good light, or work on my computer without corrective lenses and I no longer have a corrective lens restriction on my driver's license. My vision is 20-20 with progressive lenses having a slight distance correction for the surgery eye and a slight reading correction for close work, such as reading Vernier scales on peep sights or calipers. The sights on my carry gun are sharp without glasses when I extend the gun in 2-handed Isoceles.
Before suffering the detached retina I competed in highpower rifle and indoor bullseye pistol shooting using shooting glasses approximately -0.5 diopter less than my reading prescription. My shooting glasses were optimized for a focal length based upon the measured distance my cheek bone below the eye to the front sight, being approximately 39 inches for me. This gave a sharp sight picture, but the target was fussy if I used only my right eye. The target would sharpen considerably if I also used a Merit adjustable iris with the corrective lenses, but this isn't always practical in dimly light indoor ranges. But it works great outdoors for slow fire conventional pistol shooting in full sun.
Prior to cataract surgery when shooting service rifle outdoors I could read the number boards OK with my left eye, but when down in position looking through the sights it became necessary to count target frames to be sure I was on the right one, so that I wouldn't crossfire. I could hold 6:00 on the bull for standing, 200 and 300 rapid, and would frame the target at 600 yards. Back in the 1980s I shot Master, but these days I'm barely Expert.
I could use a scope if the eye lens was backed off to put the reticle in sharp focus without corrective lenses, and hunted with no issues. Firing a shotgun or iron sighted rifle I shoot with both eyes open, as I have good distance vision in the left eye. The brain has no trouble merging the target image in the left with the sight image in the right.
I was told by my retinal specialist when the vitrectomy was done to repair the detached retina, that the surgery eye would eventually develop a cataract because while the laser used for the retinal repair was focussed at the back of the eye, putting all that energy through the lens tissue causes a localized opacity. This was not a matter of "if" I would get a cataract in that eye, but rather of how soon it would grow become objectionable. Within 6 months after the retinal repair the focal distance in my right eye shortened to about half of normal and distance vision in that eye eventually deteriorated to 20/200. When I could no longer adjust scopes so that the reticle was sharp, and when using iron sights on a revolver became impossible, all I could do was superimpose a fuzzy gun over a fuzzy silhouette and instinctively point-shoot Applegate style. I received extensive coaching from a retired FBI academy instructor who made me a true believer in point shooting, but that is another story... For those who want more on this read Applegate's book Bullseye's Don't Shoot back and follow it. It works.
While I could have gotten new corrective lenses and lived with my condition for a while longer, my eye doctor advised that the younger I was when I had the surgery, the better the chance for a successful outcome, because the eye is more flexible and resilient that it would be if I waited several years longer. I would enjoy more years of good vision by having the surgery sooner, rather than later. Being active and then still working full time working outdoors, I decided not to wait on cataract surgery. I had it done and my outcome has been wonderful. I function fine without glasses in well lit, indoor office environments, although due to the nature of my outdoor work I wear progressive Transitions lenses most of the time. My vision so equipped is like being 20-years old again.
Fast forward 6 years post-surgery! As was explained by my surgeon, it is normal to developed some scar tissue behind the lens after 4-6 years. This is the normal expected outcome. I wanted to avoid a corrective lens restriction on my driver’s license, so once my vision in the surgery eye was no longer correctable to better than 20-40, I had the scar tissue corrected using a laser in the doctor's office. The day after the laser procedure my vision in that eye was 20-20 uncorrected. Six months post laser my eye again required a slight distance correction and a very slight one for very close work, but my glasses obtained 4 years ago about a year after the lens was implanted correct everything to 20-20 and the sights on my Garand and carry gun are sharp.
My advice is that you want a eye surgeon to do the lens implant who does ALOT of them.
If he happens to also be a retinal specialist and is your regular eye doctor, and he is skilled in all the modern laser techniques, you are indeed lucky.
I am on Medicare so everything was covered between that and my government employee's retirement supplemental insurance. Your mileage may vary.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia