Correction In Your Time

Cataracts are a common eye condition that may occur in one or both eyes. A typical eye problem as we age, this condition results in cloudy vision, as if looking through fogged glass. While there is no detriment to eye health from cataracts, the challenge with this condition arises when cataracts disturb vision to the point where performing regular activities becomes a challenge. Over time, it may become difficult to drive, read, or adequately read expressions on others’ faces in personal interactions.

In most cases, cataracts are a slowly developing eye problem. Instigators of the condition are aging and injury. As we age, the lenses in our eyes lose a bit of flexibility, which results in decreased transparency and a thickening of the lens itself. At the same time, aging tissues in the eye may begin to break down and clump, resulting in cloudiness in small areas.

Because eye health is not related to cataracts, the decision to have them removed is one that the patient may make using his or her best judgment. Maintaining regular optical check-ups allows you and your doctor to track any changes in vision and thus quickly address any problems that may arise. With cataracts, early treatment does not change the overall outcome. Putting off cataract removal until cloudy vision develops is, therefore, perfectly acceptable. Patients are encouraged, however, to schedule an immediate appointment should sudden vision changes occur, including blurriness or double vision.

Surgical correction is the only way to treat cataracts. This procedure is extremely effective and very safe, involving the removal of the clouded lens. Once the affected lens is removed, a new lens, called an IOL, is implanted in its place, positioned in the same way as the natural lens. In some situations, cataracts are removed and no replacement lens is implanted. This is determined during the patient’s initial consultation for surgery and dependent on the overall condition of the eye.

When both eyes are affected by cataracts, one eye is usually treated at a time, a few weeks apart. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, requiring only local anesthesia to numb the eye being treated. Following surgery, the patient may feel itching or discomfort in the eye for a day or two. It is important to avoid rubbing the eye as it heals, a process which usually takes only a few days.

To remedy the issue of cataracts, contact us for your surgical consultation.

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