All About Cataracts

Question

In order to ask my shailos, I will need to give some background information. I recently had an operation on a macular hole in my left eye — a deformation of the macula. I was told that after the operation, it was very likely that I would develop a cataract in the operated eye.

The cataract has grown and I now need an operation.

My prescription is currently very high — 13 — which makes it almost impossible for me to see properly with glasses. During cataract surgery, a new lens is inserted, and my vision can be improved from 13 to 5. However, in order to achieve this, I would need to have cataract surgery on the right eye as well, so that my vision would not be thrown off balance.

Based on all of the above, I have the following two questions:

First, while my high prescription is certainly a disadvantage in some areas, I teach girls, and when I remove my glasses, I cannot see them at all. This is a significant advantage when it comes to shemiras einayim. Perhaps I should maintain the higher prescription.

Second, if I do opt to lower my prescription, even though my right eye does not currently have a cataract, I would still have to have the lens removed from the right eye. Otherwise, my vision would be seriously imbalanced. This would mean undergoing an additional operation that is not currently necessary. What is the best way to proceed?

Thank you.Y. K.

Rav Zafrani 

A man must guard his eyes whether his prescription is 5 or 13. Having better vision can certainly help you improve your avodas Hashem in many ways, and therefore, you should take this opportunity to enhance your vision.

As far as the cataract surgery is concerned, from what I understand, it is a very standard procedure, and you will most likely need it in the future anyway. Therefore, I believe that the best approach is to proceed with surgery on both eyes now.