When will I get new glasses after cataract surgery?

New glasses have to wait for your refraction to settle. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says vision generally stabilizes about two to three weeks after surgery, and that your ophthalmologist will wait roughly that long before testing you for a new prescription, depending on the type of lens implant you received. A separate AAO answer puts the average at about two weeks, and notes it can take longer if there was a lot of swelling after surgery.

Do not spend money on frames early. AAO's advice for the gap is simple: an inexpensive pair of reading glasses from the drugstore is fine while you wait. The National Eye Institute says most people are completely healed about eight weeks after surgery and may need a new prescription for glasses or contact lenses once the eye is fully healed, and MedlinePlus says new glasses or contacts are fitted after the recovery period. If your two eyes are being done a couple of weeks apart, most surgeons wait until both are done before writing a final prescription.

Contact lenses are a separate question with two parts. For the operated eye, AAO says that unless you have another condition, you can almost certainly wear contact lenses after having cataract surgery, but the eye needs to be healed first and the timing belongs to your surgeon. For the eye that has not been done yet, AAO says you may wear a contact lens on the non operated eye, but to talk with your ophthalmologist about it beforehand, since there is concern about handling lenses near a freshly operated eye and the infection risk that comes with it.

If your two eyes end up very different in prescription between surgeries, a contact lens in the untreated eye is a common way to balance them, since glasses often are not tolerated with a large difference. Wash your hands thoroughly every time, and do not touch the operated eye. Your operating surgeon's instructions override this page.