Get Your Cataract Surgery Done!

A cataract is a condition of the eye when there is clouding of the lens which leads to a  decrease in vision. Cataract severy  so often develops slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may indicate faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble with bright lights, and trouble seeing at night. Consequently, there may be difficulty in driving, reading, or recognizing faces. Poor vision caused by cataracts may also predispose to an increased risk of falling and depression. Cataracts source half of all cases of blindness and 33% of visual impairment, globally.

They are most commonly owing to aging but may also precipitation account  of  trauma or radiation exposure, be congenitally present (since birth), or occur post an eye surgery for other associated problems. The risk factors include diabetes, smoking, tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, and alcohol. The fundamental mechanism brings inaccretion of clumps of protein or yellow-brown pigment in the lens that decreases transmission of light to the retina at the back of the eye. The diagnosis is determined by an eye examination.

Cataract surgery

The elective surgical intervention to remove your eye’s lens when it is cloudy and replace it with a clear artificial lens is commonly known as cataract surgery.

The function of your lens is to bend (refract) light rays that come into the eye to help you see. Your own lens should be clear, but with a cataract it becomes cloudy. Having a cataract can be like looking through a dusty or foggy car windshield. Things may tend to look blurry, hazy or less colorful.

The only method to remove a cataract is with the help of surgery. Your ophthalmologist will recommend removing a cataract when it keeps you from doing things you usually want or need to do.

During cataract surgery, your cloudy natural lens is removed and replaced with a clear artificial lens, which is called an intraocular lens (IOL). Your ophthalmologist will describe to you about IOLs and how they work.

What to Expect with Cataract Surgery?

Before surgery:

Your surgeon will examine your eye to determine the proper focusing power for your IOL. Also, you will be enquired about any medicines you take. You might be as well asked not to take some of these medicines before surgery.

You may be prescribed eye drops, medicines to start before surgery. These medicines help prevent infection and reduce swelling during and post-surgery.

The day of surgery:

Your ophthalmologist may ask you to restrict from eating any solid food at least 6 hours before your surgery.

Here is what will happen in cataract removal surgery:

• Phacoemulsification

This is a procedure, wherein the diseased lens is reduced to a liquid by ultrasonic vibrations and drained out of the eye.

Your eye will be numbed with an injection around the eye or with eye drops. You may also be administered medicine to help you relax.

You will stay awake during surgery. You may spotlight and notice a movement during the procedure, but you will not perceive what the doctor is doing to your eye.

Your surgeon looks through a special microscope. He/she makes small incisions (cuts, created by a blade or laser) near the edge of your cornea. With the support of these incisions, the surgeon is now able to reach the lens in your eye. Employing very small instruments, he or she will break up the CATARACTOUS lens and remove it. Then he/she implants your new lens into place.

Normally, your surgeon will not need to stitch the incisions closed. These “self-sealing” incisions eventually will close by themselves over a period of time. A protective shield will be placed over your eye to protect it while you heal from surgery.

After resting for about 15–30 minutes, you will be ready to go home.

Cataract Surgery Recovery

Days or weeks after surgery:

You will be required to instill eye drops after surgery. Ensure to comply with your doctor’s instructions for instilling these drops.

Avoid getting water or soap directly in the eye.

Do not press or rub your eye. Your ophthalmologist may recommend you to wear eyeglasses or a protective shield to guard your eye.

You will have to wear a protective eye shield when you sleep.

Follow all instructions/guidelines as told by your ophthalmologist as to how you can safely exercise, drive or perform other activities again.

What Are the Risks of Cataract Surgery?

Like any surgery, cataract surgery carries certain risks of problems or complications. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Eye infection.
• Bleeding in the eye.
• Ongoing swelling of the front of the eye or inside of the eye.
• Swelling of the retina (the nerve layer at the back of your eye).
• Damage to other parts of your eye.
• Vision loss.

Restoration of vision loss from other eye conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy is not possible with the help of cataract surgery.

Get your cataract surgery done at the right time because with the time it gets mature and become hard which ultimately makes surgery difficult.