Cataract

Cataracts can develop from normal aging, from an eye injury, from previous eye surgery or if you have taken certain medications. Cataracts may cause blurred vision and glare, and/or ghost images. If the cataract interferes with your daily life, the cataract may need to be removed. Surgery is the only way to remove a cataract. If you do not have the surgery, your vision probably will not improve and may continue to get worse.

You are more likely to develop cataracts if you have any of these risk factors:

• Too much sunlight exposure.
• High blood pressure.
• Excessive alcohol consumption.
• Clouded, blurred or dim vision.
• Impaired night vision.
• Sensitivity to light and glare.
• Seeing “halos” around lights.
• Frequent changes in glasses prescriptions.
• Fading or yellowing of colors.
• Double vision in a single eye.

The different types of cataracts include:

Age-related cataract: Most cataracts are related to aging.
Pediatric cataract: Babies that are born with cataracts and they sometimes need to be removed within a few weeks.
Secondary cataract: Cataracts are more likely to develop in people who have certain other health problems, such as diabetes or those who take steroids chronically.
Traumatic cataract: Cataracts can develop after an eye injury, or years later.

-Tests: You will need to come for an eye exam to be able to determine your diagnosis and tests will need to be done to accurately decide which lens is best for you. You will also need a dilated exam during your visit.

-Treatments: Cataract Extraction Surgery
Surgical removal of a clouded lens is considered the best, most successful treatment for this condition. We use the latest technology using ultrasound energy to break your cataracts into small pieces which is removed through a very small incision.
Similar to prescription glasses or contact lenses, the lens that is implanted in the eye is chosen to match the patient’s visual needs. If you have astigmatism, your surgeon may correct it with using a special type of lens “ Toric lens” or another procedure such as LASIK or a limbal relaxing incision (LRI) to reshape your cornea. Your doctor will guide you in choosing the intraocular lens that is right for you, depending on your condition and preferences.

Lens options include: Intraocular Lenses – Whether surgery is done to remove cataracts or to correct farsightedness, various replacement lenses are available. The standard IOL is a lens that corrects distance vision. With this lens, you see well from a distance, but need glasses to read.
Toric Single Vision Fixed-Focus IOLs – These fixed focus single-vision lenses help people with astigmatism see better for distance or for near vision than they would with a non-Toric single vision IOL. Although Toric lenses improve visual sharpness at a distance or near without glasses, they do not provide both near and distance vision simultaneously.
Multifocal IOLs – These lenses provide good vision in each eye for both near and distance. They also come in toric forms that can correct astigmatism. These lenses provide distance and intermediate and/or reading vision. Not every patient is a candidate for this lens, please discuss with your doctor if this lens is right for you as common side effects include halos around lights at night and reduced vision in bright or dim light.