Mom is almost 95 years old. I notice that she is becoming confused and hallucinating sometimes. I know cataract surgery would improve her eyesight but if the local anesthesia causes her to become even more confused, I'm not willing to risk that result. Shes says she sees okay and my sister says she seems to see alright. Has anyone out there had the same dilemma? What did you do?
From my experience, many doctors do not really realize just how resistant and uncooperative a patient with dementia may be, due to no fault of their own. They don't seem to comprehend that the adult would be similar to operating on an infant with regard to the their ability to follow instructions.
You might ask questions like what if she moves when told not to. What if she touches her eye after the procedure, etc. Would restraints be required? It's a lot to consider.
On the day of the procedure and as he was being prepped, we were ushered into the office of the Director of Nursing and informed that they would be unable to perform the surgery due to Dad's extensive list of medication sensitivities. We were then advised that he was not a good candidate for the surgery and to retrieve Dad ASAP and, if desired, make other arrangements.
Sadly, what we saw "behind the scenes" was an assembly line of elders being systematically sent along from point A to B to C etc. as quickly as possible leading us to believe that the main object was to get as many procedures completed as quickly as possible.
Subsequent discussions with Dad's PCP have reassured us that he is doing as well as any other 91 year old at this stage of his life without being subjected to this invasive procedure as long as we keep him Safe, Healthy and as Happy as possible.
As for Dad, although he does experience some visual blurring, he still can spot a bluebird on the sidewalk 50 feet away, can read the captioning on his favorite TV shows, and has no problem cleaning every last morsel of food off of his plate.
The bottom line here: Yes, while the cataract surgery might have improved Dad's eyesight, would this have positively impacted his quality of life and daily living or would having him undergo the procedure and whatever complications the anesthesia might have caused and any subsequent confusion caused by same have proven detrimental? In this case, probably not.
So, if you are experiencing concerns, be sure to engage your Mom's PCP in the discussion before making any decisions.
The only thing is that your Mom might be scared about the surgery and that will put added stress on her. Check with her primary doctor to see if he/she could give her something to calm her down, if it is also ok with the eye doctor.
I would be very surprised if the local anaesthetic had any effect on your mother's mental state; but the procedure itself is quite stressful though not painful, as described by people who have undergone it.
The bleared vision caused by cataracts could be exacerbating your mother's confusion and apparent hallucinations, on the other hand. If I were you I'd whisk her off to an ophthalmologist for professional advice on the risks and benefits.
Gone from being relatively healthy three years ago to being very "old" now.
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