Cataract Surgery

What is a cataract?

A cataract forms when the lens of the eye responsible for focusing light and producing sharp images, becomes cloudy and hardens, resulting in loss of visual function. The lens of the eye is clear at birth, but is one of the first body parts to show the effects of aging. A cataract is painless and usually develops gradually over several months or years. Normally, the appearance of a cataract in one or both eyes may cause decreased night vision, impaired depth perception, and increases color distortion.

Candidate for cataract surgery:



The ideal candidate for this type of surgery is a person who has medical confirmation that their vision changes due to development of cataracts and these changes are severe enough to affect their daily lives. Minor blurring can often be treated with a change in prescription glasses, so wait for the cataract to "mature" can be proposed. In the final analysis, the cataract should be removed so that the adverse effects of changes in vision are serious enough to justify the small but existing chance of complications from the procedure.

What happens during cataract surgery?



In general, two things happen during cataract surgery - the clouded lens is removed and a clear lens is implanted. In some cases, however, cataracts can be removed without the implantation of an artificial lens.

Before surgery, ophthalmologist measures the size and shape of the patient's eyes to determine the proper course of the implant lens. The measurements are performed with ultrasound painless. Cataract surgery is usually an outpatient procedure that takes less than an hour. Most people are awake and need only local anesthesia. On rare occasions some people may need general anesthesia.

The surgical methods used to remove the cataract are:

Ās phacoemulsification (FAK-OE-MUL-Sih-FIH-KA-shun).

During this procedure, the surgeon removes the cataract but leaves most of the outer layer (capsule) in place. During phacoemulsification, the surgeon makes a small incision - about 1 / 8 inch or 3 millimeters (mm) long - where the cornea meets the conjunctiva and inserts a thin needle probe. The surgeon then uses the probe, which transmits ultrasonic waves to break (emulsify) the cataract and suction fragments. The lens capsule remains in place to provide support for the implant lens.

Ās Extra capsular cataract extraction.

If the cataract patient has progressed to the point where phacoemulsification can not break the cloudy lens, your surgeon may extracapsular extraction of cataract. This procedure requires a larger incision, about 3 / 8 inch (10 mm), where the cornea and sclera meet. Through this incision the surgeon opens the lens capsule, removes the nucleus of a single piece and aspires to the soft lens cortex, leaving the capsule in place.

Once the cataract has been removed by phacoemulsification or extracapsular extraction, a clear lens is implanted in the capsule of the lens blank. This implant, known as an intraocular lens (IOL), is made of plastic, acrylic or silicone. It requires no maintenance and becomes a permanent part of the patient's eye. Patient will probably need reading glasses after cataract surgery. Some IOLs are rigid plastic and implanted through an incision that requires several stitches (sutures) to close. However, many IOLs are flexible, allowing a smaller incision that requires no stitches. The surgeon can bend the lens type and insert it into the empty capsule where the natural lens in the past. Once in place the lens unfolds to about 1 / 4 inch (6 mm) in diameter. Recent advances in IOL include lenses.