What Are the Treatments for Eye Cataracts?

Eye cataracts occur when the lens of the eye gets clouded. The lens is what allows us to focus our sight on objects at different distances.

Alternatives to Eye Cataract Surgery

Depending on the severity of the cataract, its symptoms can be aleviated with prescription glasses, polarized sunglasses and adapting the lighting in your house. When even after taking these measures the cataract doesn’t allow you to go about your daily activities, like driving or reading, the solution is having eye cataract surgery.

Eye Cataract Surgery

During an eye cataract surgery, the eye’s internal lens is replaced with an artificial lens. There is no hurry to have it done, there aren’t any additional complications associated to waiting. It’s most ideal to find a surgeon that you are comfortable with, as well as being well informed about the available possibilities, risks and benefits.

If you suffer from other eye conditions, such as galucoma, macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, there might be additional risks that you need to discuss with your ophthalmologist.

Types of Cataract Surgery

There are two types of cataract surgrery, phacoemulsification and extracapsular extraction.

• Phacoemulsification: It´s the least invasive kind. The natural lens is emulsified with an ultrasonic handpiece and then aspirated.
• Extracapsular cataract extraction: the center of the eye lens is extracted trhough an incision in the cornea and the remaining bits are aspirated.

In both cases, after the extraction, the natural lens is substituted with an intraocular lens implant. On a few exceptional cases, there are patients that are not a candidates for intraocular lenses, due to additional eye conditions or complications during surgery. In this case, either contact lenses or prescription glasses are used.

Cataract Surgery Risks

Cataract surgery is one of the most common and safe kinds of surgery. Over 90% of patients fully recover their vision or experience improvement. Like any other surgical procedure, it does imply a certain level of risk. It is fundamental to follow the pre and post operatory instructions that your ophthalmologyst gives you, to minimize the risk of infections and hemorrhages. It will be necessary to suspend some medications, as well as being extra careful with hygiene, otherwise your vision is at risk.

The risk of retinal detachment increases slightly after having cataract surgery. If you notice a sudden increase in the amount of floaters on your field of vision after having cataract surgery, it is important to visit your ophthalmologist. In this case, you should not let time pass, it is even recommended to go to the emergency room. The more time passes, the more permanent loss of vision you could suffer.

Being well informed before you have cataract surgery is the best way to ensure you will take the most adecuate decisions and minimize the risks as much as possible. To know more about the different kinds of intraocular lenses you have to choose from, we recommend checking out this article.