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> In 4,000 years, cataract surgery went from a crude procedure involving thorn instruments to a 20-minute operation with a 95 percent clinical success rate. I
by yapyap 1y ago
> In 4,000 years, cataract surgery went from a crude procedure involving thorn instruments to a 20-minute operation with a 95 percent clinical success rate.
I did go “yikes” a bit at 95%, a 1 in 20 failure rate is pretty rough when its about your eyes
- kragen 1y agoTrue, but if the alternative is continuing to be blind?
- efitz 1y agoJust guessing, but likely “clinical success rate” here doesn’t mean “didn’t make it worse” but actually means “improved the underlying condition significantly”.
- SketchySeaBeast 1y agoThe criteria for success seems to be "improved visual acuity"[1]. I tried to find what the failures actually looked like, but I hit a dead end[2]. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559253/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559253/ [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45414718#45449810 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45414718#45449810
- zindlerb 1y agoMany surgeries have a yikes success rate but when you need to do it you need to do it unfortunately.
- k__ 1y agoTrue, but 95% success rate doesn't mean 1 in 20 people lost their eye or something dramatic.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- tasty_freeze 1y agoAnecdote: my mother in law had cataracts in both eyes in her mid 70s. She went to NYC to have the procedure done because there was a doctor there she was told was very good. She had one eye done and immediately after said: something is wrong -- I can't see anything in that eye. They hushed her and said, don't worry, in a couple days after giving your eye a bit of time it will be good as new. Well, she remained blind in that eye for the rest of her life. She never had the other eye done for fear that she'd end up totally blind and lived another 12 or so years with one cataract-clouded eye. She didn't sue -- she was a "I don't want to make a fuss" kind of personality. She did follow up with them a few times in that first year, but they kept putting her off and downplaying that she really couldn't see more than vague light and shadow in that eye. Eventually she stopped contacting them.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- jmull 1y agoI waited until I was mostly blind in my left eye and the right was maybe 6-9 months behind, assuming it continued to progress consistent with the left. Driving at night had already been out-of-the-question for a while, and soon I would be unable to work, at least without learning an entirely new physical workflow. At that point 1/20 is great. (It all worked out very well for me.)