|
There is no non-surgical treatment for cataracts. Preventative measures can include:
• wearing good ultraviolet (UV) blocking sunglasses to protect your eyes
from the sun
• taking anti-oxidant vitamins to delay cataract changes
• not smoking - this accelerates cataract development and should be
avoided
• glasses - some improvement is possible until the cataract becomes severe
Cataract surgery is elective, done only when the person wants and needs it. Decide to have surgery when you cannot see to enjoy or perform daily tasks, such as your job, hobbies, driving, athletics or outdoor activities. The importance of good vision varies from person to person
and some have surgery earlier than others who are not troubled by diminished vision.
Cataract surgery is usually fast, comfortable, and quite successful. It can generally be performed on an outpatient surgery basis. Anesthesia consists of minimal sedation and a local block for comfort. The procedure itself usually takes less than fifteen or twenty minutes and in most cases, one usually can return home in a few two hours. Normal activity almost can be resumed almost immediately.
The actual surgical work is performed through a self-sealing (sutures are not used) opening into the eye that is about the size of a pen tip. Cataracts are never removed with lasers. The cloudy lens is removed with an instrument that loosens the protein and gently vacuums it out of the eye. This instrument is called a phacoemulsifier and is not a laser.
Once the cloudy lens is removed, a lens implant is necessary to restore the focus of the eye. The implant is folded and inserted through the same tiny opening into the eye and placed through the pupil, behind the colored iris to replace the natural human lens. It is permanent and
restores the focus of the eye. The power of the lens implant is calculated to give the best distance vision possible without glasses. Sometimes bifocals are necessary to sharpen vision for fine tasks. A new lens implant, the Array lens, has multiple focus points so the need
for glasses are lessened.
A cloud may develop behind the lens implant anywhere from several months to several years after successful cataract surgery. Known as a secondary cataract, it will blur vision just as the original cataract did. This problem is corrected with the use of a YAG laser. The YAG Laser is a precisely controlled beam of light that is used to make a
small opening in the cloudy membrane behind the lens implant. It can literally disintegrate matter. With astounding precision, this beam is focused on unwanted tissues inside the eye and the the target tissue simply vanishes, vaporized with no sign of heat, no explosive flashes of light. It takes about two minutes and usually results in immediate improvement in vision. All this occurs with exceptionally little risk to the patient. YAG lasers are not used for the original cataract surgery.
Like so many other once complicated medical conditions, treatment of cataracts today is safe, simple and successful.
| 
