Cataract surgery improves driving ability

Surgery for cataract helps improve eyesight of older drivers by making their vision more clear. A Swedish study found that only a few drivers had vision problems during day and nighttime driving after cataract surgery. One-third of those who had given up driving were able to get behind the steering wheel a few months after the surgery. Cataract is the clouding of the eye's lens, which commonly arises in older people. Surgery may be necessary when symptoms, such as blurred vision and trouble seeing at night, begin to interfere with daily life. The procedure involves removing the clouded lens and replacing it with an artificial one. Studies have shown that cataract surgery can improve driving vision in a short term. Researchers from the Umea University in Sweden found that these benefits can last for several years. Their study included 810 men and women who underwent cataract surgery during a single year at a university clinic. They were about 75 years old, on average. Before the surgery, 55 per cent of patients were active drivers with a driver's license, although 16 per cent of them did not meet Sweden's minimum visual acuity requirement for driving. Of all patients with licenses, one-third failed to meet this requirement. After surgery, however, that figure fell to 5 per cent. In addition, among 183 licensed drivers who did not drive before surgery, 37 per cent resumed driving in a few months afterward. Most were still driving 5 years later. Along with these findings, patients reported fewer roadway vision problems post-surgery. While half had difficulty seeing during daytime driving before surgery, only 5 per cent reported such problems 5 years after surgery. When it came to driving at night, 79 per cent had trouble seeing before having surgery. A few months afterward, that number dropped to 34 per cent though at the 5-year mark, it was up to 44 per cent. The reason for the increase in nighttime vision problems is not clear and is currently under investigation.