Who decides when to operate?
In most cases, the patient is the one who decides when the operation is needed. If you are troubled by poor vision and your eye has good vision potential as measured with the Retinal Acuity Meter, you may decide to take the risk of surgery. It is rare when a cataract advances to the point that it must be removed for the health of the eye. You doctor will inform you if you are reaching a time when delaying the surgery is dangerous.
Some patients are aware of having a retinal problem such as macular degeneration. Some of you have been told that cataract surgery may not help because of the macular problem your doctor has seen in your eye. How the macula looks to the doctor and how it function are two different things. An abnormal appearing macula can function very well and a normal looking macula can function poorly. The best way to tell is to take the two-minute Retinal Acuity Meter test (RAM®).