UC study: Many seniors fear cataract surgery

Cataract surgery is one of the most foolproof procedures in medicine, with a success rate as high as 95%. 

Nevertheless, many seniors don’t get cataract surgery because they fear losing their sight, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researchers reported recently in the journal Clinical Ophthalmology. The UC study was recently featured in U.S. News & World Report.

More than a third (36%) of a small group of patients said they fear cataract surgery, and more than half of those specifically cited concerns the procedure would lead to vision loss.

These fears weren’t based on a lack of knowledge, but something more primal, researchers said.

“We found patients who would benefit from surgery reasonably understood the procedure after we educated them,” said senior researcher Lisa Kelly, MD. “But even with clear explanations, sometimes their fear persisted.”

Kelly is an endowed professor-educator in the Department of Ophthalmology and director of the department's medical student education.

Cataracts develop when proteins in the eye’s lens break down and clump together, clouding the lens and causing blurry or dimmed vision, researchers said in background notes. Cataract surgery involves replacing a clouded natural lens with a clear artificial one. 

Each year, more than 3 million cataract surgeries are performed in the U.S. Despite this, prior studies have shown that many people are reluctant to undergo cataract surgery, researchers said.

To explore this further, researchers surveyed 42 patients at the University of Cincinnati’s Hoxworth Eye Clinic. Their average age was 66.

Researchers theorized that a lack of health literacy might cause people to unnecessarily fear the procedure.

However, they found that wasn’t the case at all — even when people understood cataract surgery, some still feared losing their sight.

Providing the patients with more information wasn’t always helpful, either.

“Overloading patients with data doesn’t necessarily ease their concerns,” said lead researcher Stephanie Hu, a newly graduated Doctor of Medicine student.

Instead, the study points to the importance of a good doctor-patient bond with open communication, Kelly said.

Read the full U.S. News & World Report article.

Featured image at top: Closeup view of woman with eye cataract. Photo/Stock/Liudmila Chernetska.