Cataract Symptoms
Having a cataract can be like looking through a foggy or dusty car windshield. Things may look blurry, hazy or less colorful, but often the changes have been so gradual you may not even realize your vision is muted.
Symptoms that you may notice, but not realize they are caused by cataracts, are a reduced ability to see well at night, especially while driving or viewing oncoming headlights. You may notice you’re more sensitive to sunlight, or lamplight seems too bright. And quite often, you realize your glasses prescription is changing frequently, and while you thought it was a problem with how they were made, it is more likely cataracts and glasses can’t help the problem.
Understanding Cataract Surgery
Cataract surgery is an operation to remove the natural lens in your eye when it becomes cloudy. 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 as we age, protein deposits build up on the clear lens and make it difficult for light to penetrate.
The only effective treatment for cataracts is surgery, and over 3 million cataract surgeries are performed in the US every year. Our surgeons perform advanced cataract surgery using the “no injection”, “no stitch” technique. Cataracts are removed by using sound waves with a procedure called Phacoemulsification.
Lens Implant Choices for Cataract Surgery
During cataract surgery, your cloudy natural lens is removed and replaced with a clear lens implant. That lens is called an intraocular lens (IOL), and the choice of implants is critical to the way you’ll see for the rest of your life. Dr. Kent and Dr. Evans will spend time visiting with you about your lifestyle, career, hobbies, and vision needs, then recommend lens options that will deliver the range of vision you desire either with or without glasses.
Cataract Surgery Described
Cataract removal surgery is done in an outpatient surgery center, where you’ll be for about two hours. Your eye will be numbed with drops or with an injection. You may also be given a medicine to help you relax. You will be awake during surgery, and able to see light and movement.
Your surgeon will enter into the eye through a tiny incisions near the edge of your cornea (the clear covering on the front of your eye). Using ultrasound, he will break up the lens with the cataract and remove it. Then a new lens is inserted in its place.
A shield will be placed over your eye to protect it while you heal. You will rest in a recovery area for about 15–30 minutes. Then you will be ready to go home.
Read others’ experiences with Cataract Surgery.