A cataract is the clouding of the lens of the eye. This prevents the normal passage of light to the retina, creating either a blurry image or bothersome glare. Cataracts are a normal part of the aging process. Trauma to the eye, ultraviolet light, and diseases that affect the eye, such as diabetes, can also cause cataracts.
People with progressed cataracts often describe the sensation as looking through a piece of wax paper. A cataract may make light from the sun or a lamp seem too bright, causing glare. Colors may not appear as bright as they once did. However, most cataracts develop so slowly that people usually don’t realize that their color vision has markedly deteriorated. Oncoming headlights may cause uncomfortable glare at night, making driving more difficult.
Cataract Surgery
Surgery is the only way to eliminate a cataract. Today, cataract surgery is done as an outpatient and takes only minutes to perform. The cataract is removed using ultrasound, known as phacoemulsification, to break it up into little pieces, and then vacuumed out of the eye. A foldable intraocular lens is then inserted into the eye through a small incision, allowing for quick healing time and minimal inflammation using no stitches.
Premium Lens Implant Options
Cataract surgery today is better than ever. Eye surgeons can improve visual results to give the clearest vision with less dependence on glasses. Here are the options that you when you choose to have cataract surgery.
AcrySof® ReSTOR® IOL
The latest technological breakthrough for cataract surgery allows patients to get greater freedom from glasses than ever before. The Acrysof ReSTOR IOL by Alcon gives patients the full range of quality vision (distance and near). In clinical trials, 80 percent of patients reported never wearing bifocals or reading glasses after bilateral cataract surgery.The ReSTOR IOL differs from previous lens implants by using three optical properties - apodization, diffraction, and refraction. Apodization is the use of tiny ridges on the implant surface to bend light so that some light is used for distance vision and some is used for reading vision. This lens implant is the first to incorporate apodization.
Click one of the links below to see an animated depiction of the process of cataract removal:
Unfortunately, the ReSTOR IOL is not designed for everybody. The lens cannot be used in patients who have large amounts of astigmatism, other eye diseases, or who have had previous refractive surgery.
For patients who do not qualify or choose not to have the ReSTOR IOL, we are now using intraocular lenses that are designed to block more harmful light from the sun that can worsen macular degeneration.
Inserting ACRYSOF® Natural Lens.
All intraocular lenses block ultraviolet (UV) light. The ACRYSOF Natural lens by Alcon blocks blue light in addition to UV light. Blue light begins the visible range of the light spectrum. While some blue light waves contribute to color perception, other wavelengths of blue light may harm your eye. The ACRYSOF Natural lens is transparent yellow --the color necessary to filter blue light. The yellow tint does not alter the natural colors of the things you see or the quality of your vision.Researchers believe that blue light may cause damage to the retina, potentially contributing to macular degeneration or loss of vision. The long-term effects of filtering blue light and the clinical efficacy of that filtering on the retina have not been conclusively established
Toric IOL
The latest development for lens implants is designed to cure astigmatism. The Acrysof Toric IOL reduces or eliminates the need for distance glasses after cataract surgery by treating astigmatism. Before this invention, patients with astigmatism would experience greatly improved vision after cataract surgery, but would still need to wear distance glasses in order to see their best. The Toric IOL brings the same astigmatism correction into the implant, making it much less likely after surgery that a patient would need that correction in glasses.
