Flomax and Cataract Surgery

If you’re in the United States or in many parts of Canada where you can watch U.S. television, you must have seen the Flomax (tamsulosin) commercials. The usual format is men are missing out on having fun (watching a sports event, golfing, etc) because they’re going to the bathroom all the time.

The medication is mostly for men who have benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), although some women may be prescribed the medication for urinary retention (unintentional holding back of urine).

Anyway, if you see the ad, you may remember hearing, in the long list of cautions, that the men should tell their doctor that they’re taking Flomax if they’re considering having cataract surgery. Now, how does a drug for your prostate affect cataract surgery? You may be surprised.

Although it doesn’t happen often, men who have taken Flomax and had cataract surgery have a higher risk of certain complications, such as intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS), lens loss, retinal detachment, and inflammation, say researchers in an article published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

This doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t have cataract surgery if you take Flomax – it just strengthens the warnings that you should mention it to your eye surgeon, so he or she can make adjustments to your surgery to reduce any risks that may be associated with the medication.

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