Cataract

When your eye doctor tells you that you have cataracts, he’s referring to the cloudiness on the lenses in your eyes. Cataracts can happen in one or both eyes and is closely related to aging. As a matter of fact, by the age of 80, nearly half of all Americans are diagnosed with cataracts.

The lens that develops a cloudy abnormality lies on the top of your eye. It’s the clear part that focuses light to your retina, which sits at the back of your eye. When light hits the retina, it sends signals to your brain and delivers the images you take for granted. If that signal is blurred because of the cloudy covering on the lens, your vision is blurred too.

All symptoms, potential procedural/surgical options should always be discussed with your local NYC optometrist or ophthalmologist in New York after a thorough consultation and examination for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.

You may find new prescription glasses, sunglasses with anti-glare properties and magnifiers help you see better when the cloudiness first appears. Once they stop working, however, you should consider a surgical option.

Cataract surgery is a process that replaces the cloudy lens with a new, clearer artificial lens. The procedure is one of the most common in the country, easily performed by your ophthalmologist as an outpatient procedure in his office. Cataract surgery is a highly successful procedure that can restore your sight. It has about a 90 percent chance of success.

Your eye doctor only suggests replacing your lens through surgery when your vision becomes so bad that you have difficulty driving, reading, watching television or performing other everyday activities. You may also consider surgery when the cataract doesn’t affect your vision, but does prevent your doctor from examining your eyes for other conditions such as diabetic retinopathy or age-related macular degeneration.

Pre-Surgery

Cataract surgery is performed in only one eye at a time. If you have cataracts in both eyes, you need to make separate appointments for each eye and wait four to six weeks between procedures. Before each surgery, your eye doctor does a painless ultrasound test to measure the shape and size of your lens. This allows your ophthalmologist to order the correctly sized intraocular lens, or IOL, for you.

You may be given antibiotic eye drops to reduce the risk of infection. Since you go home the same day of the surgery, you need to have someone drive you home.

Surgical Details

The entire surgery takes about an hour to perform. Before beginning, you may be given a mild sedative to help you relax. Your eye then is dilated with eye drops and the area is numbed with a local anesthetic. It’s possible that you might remain awake during cataract surgery or you may drift off.

Your eye surgeon uses one of two methods to remove your cloudy lens:

1. By removing the lens in one piece after making an incision in your eye
2. By suctioning the lens out in pieces after breaking it up with an ultrasound probe

The artificial lens is then put into the now-empty lens capsule. A patch is placed over your eye as you rest for 15 to 20 minutes for observation to make sure there isn’t any sign of trouble, such as bleeding or a reaction to the anesthesia.

After Surgery

Colors usually seem much brighter after cataract surgery because you’ve been looking through yellowish lenses for so long that you’ve been accustomed to cloudy images. Your eyes may feel itchy and uncomfortable for a couple days following surgery, but that’s normal. Avoid rubbing your eyes during this time.

You’ll need to make a follow-up visit to your ophthalmologist within a couple days and then again in a couple weeks to ensure everything is healing properly. You may receive an injection of steroid medication if you experience inflammation. You may need to wear an eye patch if you’re still sensitive to light. You should expect to be completely recovered, with no adverse side effects, after eight weeks.

What Are the Risks of Cataract Surgery?

Like any surgery, cataract surgery carries risks of problems or complications. Here are some of those risks:

• Eye infection.
• Bleeding in the eye.
• Ongoing swelling of the front of the eye or inside of the eye.
• Swelling of the retina (the nerve layer at the back of your eye).
• Detached retina (when the retina lifts up from the back of the eye).
• Damage to other parts of your eye.
• Pain that does not get better with over-the-counter medicine.
• Blurred vision.
• Seeing halos, glare, and dark shadows.
• Vision loss.
• The IOL implant may become dislocated, moving out of position.

Cataract surgery will not restore vision lost from other eye conditions, such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy.

Your ophthalmologist will talk with you about the risks and benefits of cataract surgery.

It’s very common to develop a second cataract in the same eye after you’ve had one. It’s called a posterior capsule opacification or PCO, and it occurs when the piece of the lens capsule that was left in place at the back of your eye starts to look cloudy.

A YAG laser capsulotomy is a simple and safe procedure that can clear this up quickly in as little as five minutes. The painless procedure is performed in the doctor’s office where the laser beam is used to create a small hole in your lens to let light through. Typically, you’ll remain in the office for up to an hour just to make sure there are no other complications.

What Causes Cataracts?

Cataracts occur when the naturally clear lens of your eye becomes cloudy and yellow. The cataract itself is your lens, which has become opaque or nearly opaque. Cataracts usually occur in older adults as natural proteins in the eye begin clumping together, making it hard for light to reach the back of the eye.

Cataracts can develop in one or both eyes. They are not contagious, and don’t spread from one eye to your other eye. Less commonly, cataracts also form in infants whose mothers had certain types of infections during pregnancy or in children with metabolic diseases.

But in most cases, cataracts form as a result of natural age-related changes to your body. The average age of people getting cataract surgery in the US has fallen to 65-70 due to better outcomes and improved surgical techniques. Waiting for surgery until your cataracts have “matured” offers no practical benefits.

Besides age, other causes of cataracts include:

•       Long-term steroid use
•       Trauma to the eye
•       Diabetes
•       Radiation Exposure

Do All Cataracts Need to Be Removed with Surgery?

• In the early stages, cataracts can have minimal impact on vision. People can often compensate using glasses or additional lighting. Over time, cataracts will progress, and surgery is necessary in order to restore your vision.

Research and Prevention

Research is ongoing to uncover the causes of cataracts that currently aren’t known, according to the National Eye Institute. One theory being tested is that too much ultraviolet sun exposure increases your risk of developing cataracts. Another study is looking at various vitamins and supplements that may delay the onset of cataracts. Genetics also may prove to hold significant answers.

You can help to delay the onset of cataracts right now, however, by taking certain precautions such as:

• Wearing hats with wide brims outdoors
• Blocking the sun with UV protection sunglasses
• Stopping smoking, as smoking may be related to cataracts
• Eating a diet high in antioxidants, such as green leafy vegetables and fresh fruit
• Undergoing a thorough vision test on an annual basis after you turn 60

All symptoms, potential procedural/surgical options should always be discussed with your physician after a thorough consultation and examination  for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan

How Long Does It Take To Recover From Cataract Surgery?

Days or weeks after surgery:

• You may have to use eye drops after surgery. Be sure to follow your doctor’s directions for using these drops.
• Avoid getting soap or water directly in the eye.
• Do not rub or press on your eye. Your ophthalmologist may ask you to wear eyeglasses or a shield to protect your eye.
• You will need to wear a protective eye shield when you sleep.
• Your ophthalmologist will talk with you about how active you can be soon after surgery. They will tell you when you can safely exercise, drive or do other activities again.

What causes cloudiness in the eye after cataract surgery?

Sometimes, the capsule that holds the lens can develop cloudiness after surgery. This is called PCO – posterior capsular opacification. It’s relatively easy to treat if necessary.

Posterior Capsular Opacification

Your vision could become cloudy or blurry weeks, months or years after cataract surgery. This is not unusual. Your doctor might call this a “posterior capsular opacification (or PCO).” It’s also called “secondary cataract” or “scar tissue.” It’s not like a scar you get on your skin. But because it happens after the eye has healed from cataract surgery, some people think of it as a scar. It happens when a membrane called the posterior capsule becomes cloudy. It might help to think of the posterior capsule as a transparent pocket. It holds your IOL in place. It also once held your eye’s natural lens (what became the cataract) in place. If you notice cloudy vision again, you might need to have a laser procedure. The laser creates an opening in the cloudy capsule and is called a posterior capsulotomy (or a YAG laser capsulotomy). This procedure helps restore clear vision.

Important Reminder: This information is only intended to provide guidance, not a definitive medical advice. Please consult eye doctor about your specific condition. Only a trained, experienced board certified eye doctor can determine an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.

Do you have any questions about Eye Cataracts surgery? Would like to schedule an appointment with dr Bayya Swetha, Bayya ENT and EYE hospital , please contact 9390471747,7981155293.