Eye Diseases > Cataracts > Cataract Surgery
Cataract SurgeryDay Surgery Not too many years ago, cataract surgery involved prolonged hospitalization and, in addition, immobilization for long periods of time after surgery. Today, cataract surgery is quite a different experience. You will be checked in to the surgical facility on the day of your surgery. Once in the operating room, an intravenous solution will be started and a heart monitor will be applied to provide optimum safety. In addition, you will receive medication to relieve anxiety prior to your surgery. This is all routine, standard medical care. After all medicines take effect and we are certain you are comfortable, your cataract surgery will be performed. Approximately 30 minutes later, you will spend a brief time in the recovery room. Once we are certain you are comfortable and fully aware of all postoperative instructions, you will be free to return home. In the days following surgery, you will experience very little alteration of your routine daily activities. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top Small incision no stitich cataract surgery In the past, stitches had the potential to distort the wound, causing unwanted astigmatism and frequent eyeglass prescription changes. When stitches are not used, the eye heals much quicker and without the optical difficulties of the older techniques. In special cases, a suture(s) may be necessary if the wound does not come together as easily as expected during surgery. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top Extracapsular extraction A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens. The word cataract is derived from a Greek word meaning "waterfall" (looking through falling water). Nearly half of the population over 65 will have some degree of cataract formation in their lifetime. Cataracts are most commonly caused by chemical changes within the lens of the eye, which is thought to be part of the natural aging process. But cataracts may also result from ultraviolet damage, heredity, alcohol, smoking, trauma, disease, or prolonged use of certain medications. With time, this condition will cause a gradual decrease in vision. A cataract is not a disease of the eye and presently there is no proven method of prevention. We are now learning, however, that ultraviolet protection placed within spectacle eyewear and sunwear is important to help prevent cumulative photochemical damage to the lens from solar and manmade sources. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top ADVANCED CATARACT FORMATION Although advanced cataract formation this process has been gradual, the clouding of the crystalline lens inside your eye can now cause a significant decrease in visual ability. Spectacle eyeglass correction will no longer provide adequate vision in your affected eye(s). Cataract surgery is likely in the near future. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top Sutrues and Cataract surgery Generally, one small stitch (suture) is all that is needed in today's small incision cataract microsurgical procedures. The suture is made from nylon and in about 99% of the cases it does not need to be removed. The suture is about one-third the thickness of human hair. Unlike cataract procedures many years ago, the suture is placed beneath the skin of the eye and dissolves in time without removal. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top Painless cataract surgery The tremendous advances in cataract surgery that have occurred in the last few years make it an increasingly safe and effective procedure. One of the areas where great progress has been made is in the area of anesthesia. It can now truly be stated that cataract surgery is painless for the vast majority of patients. For the past two to three decades, the vast majority of cataract surgery has been done under local anesthesia involving an injection of medicine behind or along the side of the eye. Recently, advances in painless eye surgery have been developed with the use of topical anesthesia. We can now perform cataract surgery without injection by a needle. Total comfort is achieved with the use of a special program of topically applied anesthetic drops. This new procedure naturally is more comfortable for the patient and represents an improvement in safety since it eliminates risks related to needle injections. This procedure is not suited for every patient; however, when utilized, this new technique has proven to be very safe and comfortable. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top Combined cataract and glaucoma surgery Blurred vision due to cataracts can significantly limited your ability to perform a number of activities that are important to you. As a result, it is often recommended to undergo cataract surgery to alleviate this temporary difficulty. Today, cataract surgery is performed on an outpatient basis, and represents a procedure that can be looked forward to rather than feared. The extraordinary developments in modern technology and training have made the surgery a simple and safe procedure for the patient. Glaucoma, in contrast to cataracts, can damage the optic nerve, and cause irreversible vision loss if not corrected. Fortunately, new surgical techniques have made combined cataract, intraocular lens implant and glaucoma surgery a reality, allowing both cataract and glaucoma to be treated in a single procedure. Because a glaucoma operation will be coupled with your cataract surgery, it will take several days to a couple of weeks for your eye to reach a new equilibrium. Best vision is achieved in approximately four to six weeks after surgery for healthy eyes. Damage already done by glaucoma cannot be undone, but we can generally prevent it from getting worse. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top Combined cataract and refractive surgery In addition to removal of the cataract that is diminishing your vision, it may be possible to reduce your dependance on glasses in the future by adding a brief refractive procedure to the cataract surgery. Refractive surgery typically is designed to reduce the amount of astigmatism, or contour irregularity, of the natural cornea (the clear front tissue of the eye). The desired result is usually achieved by the placement of precisely-measured relaxing incisions to create a more round, or spherical corneal surface. In many cases this treatment, along with removal of your cataract and implantation of an intraocular lens, will yield the best chance for improved vision along with decreased dependance upon eyeglass correction of vision. While refractive cataract surgery may reduce your overall need for glasses, spectacles or contacts may still be required for best vision at distance, at close-range or both. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top Risks of cataract surgery As in any surgical procedure, a small element of risk exists. Occasional unavoidable complications may occur during surgery such as infection, retinal detachment, macular swelling, hemorrhage, etc. While these complications are extremely rare, they may occur. In some cases, vision does not improve because of a preexisting condition such as macular degeneration, glaucoma or other diseases of the optic nerve and retina. It is impossible to predict in which patients these complications will occur. In some cases, there is a possibility that your vision may not improve as much as you would have liked. A very rare complication is the possibility that the intraocular lens will require removal or repositioning. No operation of any sort can ever be performed without risk. However, 95% of all patients having cataract surgery will see significantly better without complication. If patients with abnormal retinas are excluded from this group, the success rate becomes even higher. Find an eye care clinic to treat or diagnose a cataract or potential eye disease. Top |
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