Glare and contrast: indications for cataract surgery.

The present method of using Snellen visual acuity to evaluate the vision of cataract patients is inadequate because it may grossly overestimate the nature of their visual world. Many of these patients have poor visual functioning as a result of glare disability and loss of contrast. The loss of visual contrast on the retina may be quantified using devices currently available and applicable to a clinical setting in the office. These are described. A study of glare disability in pseudophakic eyes following phacoemulsification or planned extracapsular cataract extraction with intact capsules is made and compared with a previous report of eyes with a primary posterior capsulotomy. It is recommended that glare disability be measured in eyes of cataract patients and be used as an indication for cataract surgery.