Better than ever : The good news is that you are facing the problem of cataract at a time when the technology of intraocular lenses has made giant leaps ahead.
Better than ever

Significant technological advances have been made concerning cataract surgery, ever since the time of your parents and grandparents. This year, millions of patients will choose to restore their vision and way of life, thanks to this life changing medical procedure.

he good news is that you are facing the problem of cataract at a time when the technology of intraocular lenses has made giant leaps ahead. The goal anymore isn't to simply restore distant vision with a unifocal intraocular lens. Today, the goal is to strengthen your vision with an intraocular lens that will give you a full field of vision, thus minimizing your dependence on glasses, including reading glasses or bifocal lenses.

As soon as you understand what cataract is and how your vision can be improved with the intraocular lens, your worries about the diagnosis can truly be turned into enthusiasm.

How is cataract developed?

Cataract is a haze of the natural lens inside your eye. This lens, which is behind the iris (or the colored part of the eye) works exactly like the lens of a camera, focusing bright images on the retina, which, in turn, sends the images to your brain.

The human lens, consisted mainly of protein and water, can present some haze, in such a degree that the light and images are not allowed to reach the retina. Eye damage, certain disorders or even some medicine can cause this haze. In more than 90% of the cases, however, this haze is cause by the aging process. Cataract isn't a deposition in the eye and cannot be removed with diet or laser. The best way to treat cataract is to remove the old, hazy lens and to replace it with an artificial one.

Cataract can be the cause of the blurring of clear images, the dimming of bright colors or a decrease in vision at night. It is also possible that it is the reason why reading or bifocal glasses that used to help you read or perform simple tasks, cannot help you any longer. Unfortunately, it is not feasible to prevent cataract, but only to remove and replace it with an artificial lens which can restore your vision and significantly improve quality of life. The proper time to remove cataract is when the quality of your vision starts causing restrictions in your activities and your enjoyment of life.

Published Arkadikoi Orizontes in May 2009

  
          Normal Vision                            Vision with Cataract

Cataract is a phenomenon that is part of the aging of the eye and one of the most frequent causes for blurry vision after a certain age. Everyone, after a certain age, can present a haziness of the lens. There is no other treatment for cataract except for surgery, when there is an indication for it. The surgery to remove cataract is very frequent and tends to be routine for Ophthalmologist Surgeons.

Causes.

Cataract is the haze of the natural lens of the eye. The natural lens is found behind the iris, it is the same size as a lentil and it is naturally clear.

It cannot be prevented nor treated with medication.
It is a very usual disorder and it appears with age.
Sometimes it can be caused by an injury, certain disorders (e.g. diabetes, eye inflammations etc.) or medication such as chronic use of cortisone.
In very few cases a child can be born with cataract (congenital cataract).

What are the symptoms of cataract?

Haziness with gradual decrease in close or distant vision.
Vision becomes less and less clear.
Flashes and reflections around certain objects.
Fainted color perception.
Intense irritation by the sun.

All the above symptoms can affect everyday activities such as:

Driving, especially at night or in intense brightness.
Reading or watching television (in some cases, in the initial stages of some types of cataract, reading can be achieved without glasses = “second vision”)
Sewing or other tasks that need detailed observation of objects.

When should cataract surgery be done?

Surgery can be decided when the cataract starts being such a problem to the quality of vision that the person has trouble in his everyday activities (safe driving, reading, television). Based on your symptoms, you and your ophthalmologist will decide together on when to do the surgery. It is not true any more that cataract must be “mature” to be removed. With new surgical techniques (phacoemulsification) this perception belongs in the past. On the contrary, removing an overly mature hard cataract makes the procedure more difficult and can present complications.

Learn more about cataract and vision restoration with cataract surgery.