Cataracts are a leading cause of vision loss for people all around the world. While cataracts are a natural part of the aging process, they do not have to interfere with your lifestyle. A cataract is a clouding of the crystalline lens inside your eye. This lens is one of the key structures for focusing light at the back of your eye, where nerves send signals to your brain and you see an image. When the lens of your eye is clear and unclouded, it allows light to pass through. As your lens naturally clouds with age, it blocks some light from coming through. This causes vision to become yellowed and blurry, almost like looking through an amber filter or dirty glasses. This makes it difficult to see, especially at night, as glare around lights is a common symptom of cataracts.

Because a cataract worsens over time, it can eventually keep you from fully enjoying the activities you love. Like most things related to aging, cataracts develop more slowly based on genetics and lifestyle choices, such as managing your stress level and making healthy dietary choices. Treating a cataract can open up a whole new world of possibilities when it comes to your vision.  Reach out to us today and we’ll answer any questions about cataract surgery, and ensure your vision keeps up with your lifestyle.

Today, cataracts can be treated in a variety of ways. Initially, when symptoms begin to appear, you may be able to improve your vision with a new pair of glasses or a change in prescription. Brighter lighting may also help in the short-term. If a cataract grows large enough to impair your vision, and affect your daily activities, cataract removal is recommended. Cataract removal is a common procedure, and is safely performed millions of times each year (In fact, it is the most common surgery performed every year).  During the procedure, the cataract surgeon removes the clouded lens that has affected your vision, and replaces it with a clear, artificial, intraocular lens (IOL). As a result, most patients can achieve a noticeable improvement in their vision.

Cataracts do not grow back, but in some cases, the clear, thin tissue that holds the intraocular lens in place can turn cloudy, months or even years after cataract surgery, causing vision to blur again. If this happens, your doctor can easily and painlessly correct the issue, by using an in the office laser, to create a new opening in the lens capsule. This painless procedure, which only takes a few seconds, once again creates a clear visual pathway, which allows your sight to return to its previous level of clarity.

If a cataract grows large enough to impair your vision, and affect your daily activities, cataract removal is recommended. Laser Cataract removal is a common procedure, and is safely performed millions of times each year. During the procedure, the cataract surgeon removes the clouded lens that has affected your vision, and replaces it with a clear, artificial, intraocular lens. As a result, most patients can achieve a noticeable improvement in their vision. Cataract surgery used to require a fairly large incision in the eye, and the use of sutures to close that incision. Today, technological advances allow surgeons to work through an incision much smaller than in the past, usually requiring no sutures at all.

Small incision cataract surgery, is made possible by using high frequency sound waves known as ultrasound, or phacoemulsification. The sound waves break a cataract up into tiny fragments, that can then be removed through the small incision. Alternatively, laser-based cataract surgery uses femtosecond laser technology to create an incision, remove the front portion of the lens capsule and soften the clouded lens. After that step is completed, the traditional phacoemulsification device is still needed to complete the removal of the cataract.