Cataract Surgery

By definition, a cataract is a clouding or blurring of the lens in your eye. This condition can develop in both eyes, the effects of which are overly debilitating if left untreated. For those with advanced cases of cataracts, surgery (such as corneal transplants) may be necessary to insure your vision is at its best.

Why Cataract Surgery Is Needed

Besides just clouding your vision, cataracts can cause issues that result in double vision and extreme sensitivity to glare. These side effects can make every day activities difficult or impossible.

The development of cataracts can also interfere with treatments for other eye related issues. For diabetic patients, cataract has been found to develop more severely and much quicker than in regular patients, which makes the need for cataract surgery all the more urgent.

Definitely worth noting, cataracts CAN cause blindness and is in fact the leading cause o blindness worldwide. This is why speaking to a doctor about cataract surgery and treatment is so important. You have to act before it’s too late.

Cataract Surgery Information

To treat cataract, an ophthalmologist will be needed to surgically remove the clouded lens from your eye. Then an artificial lens will be placed into your eye to replace the natural lens. The replacement lens is called an intraocular lens or an IOL.

The whole procedure can usually be done in less than 30 minutes, and patients can basically return to their normal daily functions the following day.

There are a few different surgical options, which can include the following;

The most popular and commonly used is called Phacoemulsification. This procedure has the ophthalmologist make a very small incision into the side of the cornea. Stitches are not needed in most cases and less than 3% or patents experience negative side effects.

Extracapsular and Intracapsular cataract surgery are both outdated methods. The surgery for these two procedures are more extreme, which is why they aren’t used as commonly. Intracapsular surgery is actually hundreds of years old, and is almost never used except in cases of extreme eye injury or disease.

Cataract Surgery Risks

There are several risks that can result from cataract surgery that we want to bring to your attention. After a cataract surgery, you may experience bleeding, swelling and inflammation of the eyes. Other side effects can include Glaucoma, retinal detachment and the formation of a second cataract. Note: Usually if symptoms do not improve after a surgery, it due to an underlying eye condition.

Is Cataract Surgery Right for You?

While there are other viable alternatives (such as LASIK treatment), cataract surgery might be the best option for you. Fill out our contact form for a free medical evaluation and get you vision back to 20/20 today!