YAG Laser Capsulotomy

Sometimes months or even years after cataract and lens implant surgery, your vision may seem to fade. This is often because of something called posterior capsular clouding. When you had your cataract and lens implant surgery, an intraocular lens or IOL was implanted within the lens capsule to replace the old natural lens. The lens capsule is a cellophane-thin, elastic and transparent envelope that once held the natural lens inside your eye …and now holds the IOL in place. Within a few weeks after lens implant surgery, the capsule shrinks and sticks to the IOL, holding it securely in place.

As time goes by, this capsule can slowly become cloudy. This is not a cataract coming back, but a very common side effect following lens implant surgery. Presbyopia-correcting IOLs are particularly sensitive to this. The typical solution is a YAG laser capsulotomy. The YAG laser will make an opening in the center of the posterior capsule about the size of your pupil, creating a clear visual pathway. This procedure is usually not done at the time of lens implant surgery, because this could interfere with the implant's position. Once the YAG procedure has been performed, you should see a very quick improvement in your overall vision. Fortunately, this is a one-time event and extremely unlikely to ever need to be repeated in the future.