by Anura Guruge
on August 6, 2023
Given the eye issues I have had most of my life, I, as some of you have figured out, am somewhat obsessed with eye care & eye health. I also know a LITTLE BIT about eye conditions.
So, when I read about Pope Francis’ recent eye issues, my first reaction, especially, given his age was CATARACTS. This sounded like a cataract-related issue.
So, I was curious whether the pope, AS HE SHOULD HAVE (given his age), had had cataract surgery. Appears that he had — in 2019. But, he & the Vatican (per usual), have been very secretive about it. For a start, it is not clear whether he had BOTH eyes done or just one. Having just one eye done, especially given his advanced age, makes NO sense. Yes, some the degree of opacity can be different between the eyes — but you might as well get new lenses, & hence, BETTER VISION, in both eyes.
So, that to I, is the first issue. Did he have BOTH eyes done?
The artificial lens implanted during a cataract surgery ages! Yep. Has to do with scar tissuing. Over time, starting after the first year, the lens starts getting a coating. These days that coating is EASY TO REMOVE. They use a fairly simple laser cleaning technique. My cataract surgeon talks about this everytime I go into see him — which these days is yearly (around February). I am OK for now.
This could be what ails the pope. He should be seeing his eye doctor as soon as he gets back to Rome. In his case, however, his age, lung capacity & OBESITY could be an issue — i.e., any kind of general anesthesia could be dangerous (even for a simple lens cleaning).
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