Naturally, Dr. Mendelsohn and his entire staff are exceedingly desirous of every patient having superb eyesight following the cataract surgery as well as a complication free experience. While complications can arise during or following any procedure performed on the human body, very gratifyingly, with cataract surgery, problems and complications are a great rarity.
Alan Mendelsohn M.D., F.A.C.S has been performing cataract surgery for thirty years and is widely recognized by his peers as a pioneer in the field. Despite his top tier surgical skills, without a doubt, the transformation of cataract surgery to advanced laser cataract surgery has enhanced visual outcomes for every patient while concurrently taking a very low risk level with the procedure, and lowering it even further. Especially with a denser cataract, a patient with pseudoexfoliation of the lens, a person who is very near-sighted (high myope) or very far-sighted (high hyperope), has a partial dislocation of the lens, history of eye trauma, and other issues, the advent of laser cataract surgery has been a landmark advancement for all involved. Whenever possible, Dr. Alan Mendelsohn fervently believes that utilizing the laser is extremely prudent. Alan Mendelsohn’s own cataract surgery performed in 2014 was performed with the laser, giving him perfect 20/20 vision in both eyes, without the need for spectacle correction for near, intermediate, or distance due to his ReStor lens implants.
Cataract surgery, whether performed with a laser or without the laser, can subject the patient to the risk of an intraoperative infection. These are exceedingly rare. Drs. Mendelsohn fervently believes that two key steps are instrumental to minimize this risk: First, the use of antibiotic eye drops pre-operatively, the day of surgery, and for one week post-operatively. Second, that the procedures be performed in a professional out-patient surgical facility, as opposed to within the physicians office. No matter how careful a physicians staff is with the handling of equipment, Dr. Mendelsohn ardently believes that all cataract procedures, including those performed with the laser, be done in the sterile environment of an operating room. They do all of their cataract procedures at Memorial Same Day Surgery Center – a surgical facility with an impeccable track record for eye surgery over the past several decades.
Lastly, Alan Mendelsohn, MD, FACS, feels very strongly that the surgeon should play an integral role in the post-operative care of the patient following cataract surgery. Very disappointingly, many cataract surgeons see their patient the day following surgery and then relinquish their care to other individuals. If there is a post-operative complication such as an infection, the surgeon will detect any problem at its incipient stages and initiate care to remedy the situation, almost always ensuring a highly favorable outcome. Other individuals, despite good intentions, will not make the critically important early diagnosis of trouble. As a statewide physician leader, including as President of the Florida Society of Ophthalmology, Dr. Mendelsohn has urged cataract surgeons to assume personal responsibility for post-operative care in its entirety, rather than delegating it to others. (10 Things Your Eye Doctor Won’t Tell You). Going one step further, Dr. Alan Mendelsohn gives all of his patients his/her personal cell phone number prior to cataract surgery so that he/she is always available for their questions or concerns on the day of surgery and all times thereafter.