How much does cataract surgery cost in Gdynia, and what determines the price?

“How much does cataract surgery cost?” is a question we hear at almost every first visit. The honest answer is: it depends above all on which lens we implant, and only secondarily on where and with whom you have the operation. Below we break the price into its parts and show exactly what it covers.

What determines the price

During cataract surgery we remove the clouded natural lens and implant an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). The procedure itself is similar whatever lens is chosen – it is the implant that decides how you will see for decades to come, and it makes up the largest part of the cost.

• Monofocal lens – sharp vision at one distance, usually far; reading glasses are needed.
• Toric lens – additionally corrects corneal astigmatism. Available in monofocal, EDOF and trifocal versions.
• EDOF lens – sharp from far to intermediate distances (computer, dashboard), with a low risk of light effects at night.
• Trifocal lens – three focal points: far, intermediate and near; the best chance of a life without glasses.

The second component is the qualification visit: optical biometry, corneal topography and aberration analysis, and macular OCT. These are the tests that decide whether an eye is suitable for a multifocal lens at all and what lens power to calculate. Without them even the most expensive implant can disappoint.

OKUMED prices (per eye)

Procedure	Price
Qualification visit	PLN 300
Monofocal aspheric lens	PLN 4,000
Monofocal toric lens	PLN 5,000
EDOF lens	PLN 7,000 – 8,000
EDOF toric lens	PLN 8,000 – 9,000
Trifocal lens	PLN 8,000 – 9,000
Trifocal toric lens	PLN 9,000 – 10,000

The ranges for premium lenses reflect differences between models and manufacturers (OKUMED offers, among others, ZEISS AT ELANA, Alcon Clareon PanOptix Pro and Bausch + Lomb enVista Envy). We confirm the exact price after qualification, once we know which lens is best for your eye.

Private or public (NFZ)?

Cataract surgery under the Polish public health fund (NFZ) is free of charge. The differences concern four things:

1. The lens. Under the public scheme a standard monofocal lens is implanted. A toric lens is used only when corneal astigmatism exceeds 2.0 dioptres – a patient with less astigmatism (which is most people) receives a lens without cylindrical correction, so after surgery glasses may be needed not only for reading but for distance too. Toric lenses matched to any degree of astigmatism, and EDOF and trifocal lenses, are available only privately – it is not possible to pay a supplement for a better implant in a publicly funded operation.
2. The date. Under the public scheme it depends on the queue at a given hospital; privately we agree it individually within the coming weeks.
3. Pre-operative diagnostics. Private qualification includes the full set of measurements needed to choose a premium lens.
4. Who operates. Public hospitals, especially teaching hospitals, train future surgeons, so some publicly funded cataract operations are performed by doctors who are still learning the procedure – under the supervision of an experienced surgeon, but the patient usually has no say in who operates. Studies show that early in the learning curve the rate of intraoperative complications, such as posterior capsule rupture, is higher than among experienced surgeons. In private surgery you know in advance who will operate and what their experience is – at OKUMED it is a surgeon performing more than 1,000 procedures a year.

If all you want is to have the cataract removed and reading glasses do not bother you, public surgery is a sensible choice. If the goal is also to get rid of your refractive error and glasses, private surgery with a properly selected lens is worth considering.

Why the cheapest offer is not always the best

When comparing prices in the Tricity, it is worth asking three things: exactly which lens is included in the price (manufacturer and model), which tests are performed before surgery (corneal topography and aberrometry, optical biometry, OCT) and who operates and how many such procedures they perform a year. A surgeon performing more than 1,000 operations a year offers a different level of repeatability than a few dozen procedures.

When to operate on the second eye

Cataract usually develops in both eyes, though at different rates. We operate on the second eye after an interval agreed with your surgeon, once the first eye has been checked. With multifocal lenses bilateral surgery is particularly important, because the brain adapts best to the new vision when both eyes work the same way.

Book a cataract qualification visit at OKUMED – Świętojańska 135/2, Gdynia, phone +48 882 650 299 or book online.

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This article is for information only and does not replace a medical consultation. Prices are valid on the day of publication and may change.