Cataract Surgery

There are no medications, eye drops, exercise or glasses that will cause cataracts to disappear once they have formed. Surgery is the only way to remove a cataract.

Cataract Surgery should not be delayed once the diagnosis of Cataract is made as it can cause enough loss of vision leading to tremendous difficulties in going through day-to-day activities.

Surgery should be considered when cataracts cause enough loss of vision to interfere with your daily activities

It is not true that cataracts need to be “ripe” before they can be removed, or that they need to be removed just because they are present.

Eyes are measured before the surgery with modern instruments like IOL Master to determine the power of its’ intraocular lens placed in the eyes. A routine blood test and physical fitness is also performed before the surgery.

Eye drops are used during the surgery and possibly a mild sedative to help relax. A local anesthetic numbs the eye whereas the skin around the eye is thoroughly cleansed. The eye is kept open by an eyelid speculum, which means that you may be able to see the light and movement but not the surgery.

Phacoemulsification is a non-stitch method of cataract removal by ultrasonic fragmentation and aspiration of the cataractous lens through a small wound. Phacoemulsification is advantageous for both patients and surgeon. It gives greater intra operative control and faster postoperative recovery

Patients are able to resume normal activity much sooner and with fewer restrictions in shorter duration of time than the traditional cataract surgery. New generation phaco system like sovereign-white star can perform phaco surgery even in heard cataract with less power consumption

Laser surgery is not used in cataract surgery. However the lens capsule sometimes becomes cloudy several months or years after the cataract operation causing blur vision. Procedure called Yag laser posterior capsulotomy is used to make an opening in the cloudy lens capsule, restoring normal vision.

Cataract surgery is usually performed under local or topical anesthesia as an outpatient procedure. Your ophthalmologist performs this delicate surgery using a microscope, miniature instruments and other modern technology like phacoemulsification.

Cataract surgery is a highly successful procedure. Improved vision is the result in over 98% of cases, unless there is a problem with the cornea, retina, optic nerve or other structures. It is important to understand that complications can occur during or after the surgery. some severe enough to limit vision. If you experience even the slightest problem after cataract surgery, your ophthalmologist will want to hear from you immediately.

Though they rarely occur, serious complications of cataract surgery are:

• Infection
• Bleeding
• Swelling

Call your ophthalmologist immediately if you have any of the following symptoms after surgery:

• Pain not relieved by nonprescription pain
• medication Loss of vision
• Nasea, Vomiting or excessive coughing
• Injury to the eye.