What is a cataract?
The purpose of your lens is to bend (refract) light rays that come into the eye to help you see. Your own lens should be clear, but with a cataract it is cloudy. Cataracts
are very common vision disorders that occur as part of the aging process.
Cataracts develop when the natural lens inside the eye becomes cloudy, brown or
yellow. Having a cataract can be like looking through a foggy or dusty car windshield.
The natural crystalline lens of the eye is made mostly of water and protein. Usually by age 65, chemical changes in our body cause the protein in the natural lens to denature and gradually lose its transparency, thus it starts to scatter light and prevent light rays from focusing properly on the retina.
What are the symptoms of cataract?
- Cataracts make one’s simple tasks difficult or impossible to perform, because of...
- Cloudy or blurry vision
- Fading or yellowing or colours
- Sensitivity to bright light or the sun
- Poor night vision
- Frequent changes in eyeglasses
Who is prone to cataract?
Most adults over the age of 55 are prone to cataract (senile). Moreover, cataracts can be developmental (in childhood) and can also be the result of medication (steroids), trauma, diabetes, malnutrition etc.
Can any medication prevent development of cataract or stop its progression?
No there is no eye drop or systemic medication to do so.
What is the recommended treatment for cataract?
The only way to remove a cataract is with surgery. Cataract surgery is most successful and more then 90% of patients are able to regain good vision.
Significant developments in eye-care in the areas of micro-incision surgery and foldable
intra-ocular lenses have made cataract surgery an outpatient procedure. The
procedure is relatively safe and recovery of vision takes only 1 to 3 days. The
procedure is virtually painless, stitchless & without bleeding and the
patients can resume most of work within a week.
What is Phacoemulsification (Phaco
surgery)?
Phacoemulsification is a surgical procedure by which a clouded lens is extracted by fragmenting it into tiny pieces with ultrasound energy and aspirating out with a suction device.
What is intraocular lens (IOL)?
The artificial lens that is implanted in eye after removal of cataractous lens is IOL. These are permanently implanted and are of various types. Foldable IOLs are implanted in the eye through smallest incision. It gives better quality of vision with no change in size of the image along with excellent patient comfort.
Monofocal IOLs provide good distance vision & typically need reading glasses for near.
Standard Monofocal Lenses
- Most commonly implanted lenses, with equal power in all regions of the lens.
- Provide good overall vision at a specific distance.
- Reading glasses will most likely be required.
- Monofocal lenses are suitable for people who are comfortable wearing reading glasses
Advanced Monofocal Lenses
- Aspheric lenses - Provide sharper, better quality vision than standard monofocal lenses.
- Toric lenses - Reduce astigmatism for people with high astigmatism.
- Advanced monofocal lenses are suitable for people who desire better quality vision and do not mind wearing reading glasses for near tasks like reading or writing.
Multifocal IOLs- Provide good distance and near vision without glasses.
- Highly convenient as both near and intermediate vision for fixed distances can be clearer using these lenses.
- However, some people may find it difficult to read fine print, especially in dim light and may experience glare and haloes.
- For best results, this lens should be used in both eyes.
- Multifocal lenses are suitable for people who want to reduce their dependence on glasses for far and near vision.
- More suitable for people in whom night driving visual quality is less a priority
- People with high astigmatism will need multifocal toric lenses which are effective in reducing astigmatism.
When should you undergo cataract surgery?
When a cataract keeps you from doing things you want or need to do i.e. when blurring of vision due to cataract starts affecting your activities of daily life including driving, riding, watching TV etc., surgery is recommended.
Generally, there is no such thing as a cataract being “ripe” or “unripe” for removal. What matters is whether the cataract interferes with your vision.It is a misconception to mature the cataract before operation.Surgical complications increase as the cataracts mature and harden as well as with ageing. Therefore, timely cataract surgery is desired for best results.
Diabetics
& BP patients can get operated after controlling their blood sugar and
blood pressure, respectively.
What to Expect with Cataract Surgery
Before surgery:
Your surgeon will measure your eye to determine the
proper focusing power for you at Jai Eye Centre. Also, you will be
asked about any medicines you take.You must continue your systemic medicines routinely even on the day of surgery.
You may be prescribed eyedrops medicines to start
before surgery. These medicines help prevent infection and reduce
swelling during and after surgery.
The day of surgery:
Cataract removal surgery may be done on a day care basis and does not require overnight hospitalization. Here is what will happen
- Your eye will be numbed with eye drops or with an injection around the eye.
- You will be awake during surgery. You may see light and
movement during the procedure, but you will not see what the doctor is
doing to your eye.
- Your surgeon looks through a special microscope and creates
tiny incisions (cuts, created by laser or a blade) near the edge of your
cornea. The surgeon uses these incisions to reach the lens in your eye.
Using very small instruments, he or she will break up the lens with the
cataract and remove it. Then he/she puts your new lens into place.
- Usually your surgeon will not need to stitch the incisions
closed. These “self sealing” incisions eventually will close by
themselves over time. A protective glass will be given to protect your eye while you heal from surgery.
- You will rest in a recovery area for about 15–30 minutes. Then you will advised eye drops and would be ready to go home.
How soon after surgery will I be able to see?
Vision could be restored in a day or two in phacoemulsification /microincision cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation.