The Ophthalmic
Center - Cataract Surgery
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Facts About
Cataracts
The following article and image is reprinted courtesy
of: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
A cataract is a clouding
of the eye's lens that can cause vision problems. The most common type
is related to aging. More than half of all Americans age 65 and older
have a cataract. In the early stages, stronger lighting and eyeglasses
may lessen vision problems caused by cataracts. At a certain point, however,
surgery may be needed to improve vision. Today, cataract surgery is safe
and very effective. The lens is the part of the eye that helps focus light
on the retina. The retina is the eye's light-sensitive layer that sends
visual signals to the brain. In a normal eye, light passes through the
lens and gets focused on the retina. To help produce a sharp image, the
lens must remain clear.
The lens is made mostly
of water and protein. The protein is arranged to let light pass through
and focus on the retina. Sometimes some of the protein clumps together.
This can start to cloud small areas of the lens, blocking some light from
reaching the retina and interfering with vision. This is a cataract. In
its early stages, a cataract may not cause a problem. The cloudiness may
affect only a small part of the lens. However, over time, the cataract
may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see. Because
less light reaches the retina, your vision may become dull and blurry.
A cataract won't spread from one eye to the other, although many people
develop cataracts in both eyes. The most common symptoms of a cataract
are: Cloudy or blurry vision. Problems with light. These can include headlights
that seem too bright at night; glare from lamps or very bright sunlight;
or a halo around lights. Colors that seem faded. Poor night vision. Double
or multiple vision (this symptom often goes away as the cataract grows).Frequent
changes in your eyeglasses or contact lenses. These symptoms can also
be a sign of other eye problems. If you have any of these symptoms, call
the center to make an appointment for an eye examination. When a cataract
is small, you may not notice any changes in your vision. Cataracts tend
to grow slowly, so vision gets worse gradually. Some people with a cataract
find that their close-up vision suddenly improves, but this is temporary.
Vision is likely to get worse again as the cataract grows.
How is it
treated?
For an early
cataract, vision may improve by using different eyeglasses, magnifying
lenses, or stronger lighting. If these measures don't help, surgery is
the only effective treatment. This treatment involves removing the cloudy
lens and replacing it with a substitute, intraocular lens. A cataract
needs to be removed when vision loss interferes with your everyday activities,
such as driving, reading, or watching TV or if it prevents examination
and treatment of other eye problems. You and the doctor will make that
decision together. In most cases, waiting until you are ready to have
cataract surgery will not harm your eye. If you have cataracts in both
eyes, the doctor will not remove them both at the same time. You will
need to have each done separately.
Cataract removal is one of the most common operations performed in the
U.S. today. It is also one of the safest and most effective. In about
90 percent of cases, people who have cataract surgery have better vision
afterward.
In most cataract surgeries, the removed lens is replaced by an intraocular
lens (IOL). An IOL is a clear, artificial lens that requires no care and
becomes a permanent part of your eye. With an IOL, you'll have improved
vision because light will be able to pass through it to the retina. Also,
you won't feel or see the new lens.
The Latest Technology :
Cataract Surgery has undergone tremendous technological advances since
the days of your parents and grandparents. Until recently, patients undergoing
Cataract surgery with a lens implant (IOL), received a monofocal, or single
focus IOL. Monofocal IOLs implanted in both eyes generally provide excellent
distance vision while patients often require eyeglasses for intermediate
and near vision due to presbyopia, a condition that affects everyone as
they age, in which the natural lens of the eye looses it's flexibility
causing us to loose the ability to accommodate and see clearly in the
distance, near, and everywhere in between. Today, intraocular lens technology
has taken a giant leap forward. No longer is the objective simply to restore
your distance vision with a monofocal IOL. Today, the goal is to enhance
your vision with an IOL that may provide you with a full range of vision,
thus minimizing your dependence on glasses including, reading glasses
or bifocals. For most cataract patients life without reading glasses was
something they only dreamed about. But, today with the new IOL lens technology
many have already turned that dream into reality, receiving, a high level
of glasses free vision.
You can quickly return to many everyday activities, but your vision may
be blurry. The healing eye needs time to adjust so that it can focus properly
with the other eye, especially if the other eye has a cataract. Ask your
doctor when you can resume driving.
Sometimes a part of the natural lens that is not removed during cataract
surgery becomes cloudy and may blur your vision. This is called an after-cataract.
An after-cataract can develop months or years later. Unlike a cataract,
an after-cataract is treated with a laser. In a technique called YAG laser
capsulotomy, your doctor uses a laser beam to make a tiny hole in the
lens to let light pass through. This is a painless outpatient procedure
performed at The Ophthalmic Center by Dr. Basilice.
If you are age 60 or older, you should have an eye examination through
dilated pupils once a year. This kind of exam allows the doctor to check
for signs of age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and
other vision disorders.
For more information
about cataracts, contact:
National Eye Institute
2020 Vision Place
Bethesda, MD 20892-3655
(301) 496-5248
http://www.nei.nih.gov
Office of Consumer Affairs
Parklawn Building (HFE-88)
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
1-888-463-6332
http://www.fda.gov
For more information
about IOLs, contact:
U.S. Food
and Drug Administration
Office of Consumer Affairs
Parklawn Building (HFE-88)
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
1-888-463-6332
http://www.fda.gov
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