We normally allow about two weeks between doing a cataract/IOL procedure on the first and second eyes. It is quite unlikely (but not impossible) that there could be a problem not discovered in that length of time. Occasionally we will do the second eye sooner than that, after only one week for example, but this is usually under unusual circumstances. The first eye’s vision does not have to be perfect, but a patient should be pretty happy with it before proceeding to have the second one done.
Some clinics will perform bilateral cataract/IOL surgery on the same day in an effort to be more efficient and/or save costs. I do not think this is such a great idea for two reasons: 1) It is far better to have to deal with a complication in one eye than both, should that be an issue no matter how rare, and 2) There is often very useful information to be found from the first eye’s results that can help improve the second eye’s operation’s accuracy.
_Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. – Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic