After Having Cataract Surgery In Both Eyes, My Doctor Is Suggesting I Try Monovision. What Does This Mean?

Question: After having cataract surgery in both eyes, my doctor is suggesting I try monovision. What does this mean, and what are the risks/benefits?

Answer: Monovision is a visual phenomenon where one eye is corrected to see distance vision, that is far away, and the other eye is corrected for near vision or reading. Many contact lens patients have this set-up so that they don't need reading glasses for example. It's reasonable if a person has had monovision, prior to developing cataracts, that they decide to have this done following their surgery. That is, the lenses that are put in during surgery would be calculated by the surgeon beforehand to arrange for monovision.

I would not recommend doing this if a person has not been a monovision patient prior to surgery because there is a chance that they may not tolerate it, and we would not recommend going back to the operating room to remove and replace an intraocular lens implant.