What is a cataract?
Cataracts occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy instead of clear. The lens of your eye sits just behind your pupil and is disc-shaped. At birth, the lens is clear and allows light to pass through it to the back of the eye (retina) without interruption.
However, as we get older the lens can start to get cloudy, and it may also become harder. This affects the ability of light to reach the retina. Your vision becomes blurred, and you may experience ghosting and glare. Many patients describe it as “like looking through a dirty window”.
As the lens continues to cloud over, it may start interfering with your daily activities, and ability to see clearly.
Causes of cataracts.
Cataracts usually develop as a result of normal aging, but they can occur prematurely due to systemic disease such as diabetes. Some babies are born with cataracts (congenital cataract). According to the US National Library of Medicine, “around 20 000 – 40 000 children are born each year with a congenital cataract.”
They are also caused by ocular trauma, previous inflammation in the eye, or medications like steroids.
How do you treat a cataract?
Surgery is the only way of treating or ‘fixing’ a cataract. While having surgery on your eye may sound scary, cataract surgery is actually very quick, safe, and mostly painless. It will restore the vision that you lost, and many patients even end up with better sight than before. Some are able to put away their spectacles, and enjoy clear vision for the first time in many years!
Find out exactly what happens during cataract surgery below.
What happens during cataract surgery?
Most cataract surgeries are performed within one day, under conscious sedation. There is no need for an overnight stay.
During the cataract surgery, the lens inside your eye is removed and replaced with an artificial lens to restore clear vision.
Surgery usually only takes about 10 minutes. The ophthalmologist makes a very small cut in the cornea to gain access into the eye. They use a special machine called a phaco-machine, which emits high frequency ultrasound to break up the lens and suck it out. In the place where the cataract lens sat, an artificial lens is injected into the eye. The strength of this lens is worked out prior to surgery.
Following the surgery, an eye pad and shield are placed over the eye. The patient is then released, and they return to the surgery the next morning for the removal of the dressing and assessment.
It may take a few days for the patient’s vision to become clear. Drops are prescribed and used about four times a day during the healing process. It takes around six weeks for the eye to heal completely.
Once the eye has healed, the patient can be assessed for glasses. Some people don’t need to wear any glasses after the procedure. Some patients may only require a pair of over-the-counter readers, where others may need a thin pair of distance glasses.
Various lenses are available for implant.
Technology has advanced to the point where patients can choose between different lenses for their cataract surgery. When the old lens of the eye is replaced, a new synthetic one is implanted by the physician. The majority of patients receive standard Monofocal lenses.
However, if a patient is adamant that they would not like to wear glasses after the procedure, then a Multifocal IOL may be an option. It’s important to note that these lenses are very expensive and not usually covered by medical aid. They may also have some issues with glare and aberrations.
If a patient has a significant astigmatism (the eye is shaped more like a rugby ball than a soccer ball), then a Toric lens is something that the ophthalmologist would likely recommend. These lenses are able to correct astigmatism.
Some patients opt for the Monovision lens which corrects one eye for distance and the other eye for near. This is also an excellent choice if patients would like to be spectacle free, however not everyone can tolerate the difference.
Lens implant options:
- Standard Monofocal Lenses
- Tecnis® IOL
- Hoya IOL
- Sensar IOL
- Multifocal Lenses
- Tecnis® Multifocal IOL
- Tecnis® Symfony IOL
- Astigmatism-correction Lens (Toric® IOL)
- Monofocal Toric IOL
- Monovision
