Home » Cataract Surgery » Take the Cataract IQ Test
Age-related changes in the natural lens – which results in the development of a cataract – often start much earlier in life and slowly progress. This process often occurs earlier in life in patients who are nearsighted, diabetic or had a lot of outdoor exposure to UV light.
Cataracts have a yellow to brown tint that can often make it difficult to distinguish between blue and green and between pink and purple.
LASIK treats the shape of a person’s cornea and is unrelated to a person’s natural lens. Strabismus surgery deals with the muscles in the eye, not the natural lens. Many people think their LASIK has “failed” as they have grown older when the real culprit is age related lens changes progressing toward a cataract.
Now a days, cataract surgery is performed as a 20 minute outpatient procedure without the need for general anesthesia. Patients should plan on spending 3-4 hours in the surgery center, after which they are discharged to a driver to go home. Each eye is operated upon separately, usually between 2 and 3 weeks apart. Patients will be given a list of activities from which they should refrain; in most cases, they can go back to their general lifestyle within a day or so of cataract surgery.
Originally, IOLs were made to give someone perfectly clear distance vision at one specific focal point. This meant that to see closer or farther from this point required glasses. Today, there is a customized IOLS that can give good vision, near, far and even in-between. These “specialty” lenses are considered an “add-on” and require the patient to pay out of pocket to enjoy a life free of glasses or contacts. The traditional “monofocal” lenses typically requires people to wear glasses after surgery.
The material used for IOLs has been around for many, many years and has been proven to be both effective and safe.
IOLs differ as to whether they are monofocal or specialty lenses. Moreover, even the same “type” of IOL – e.g., monofocal – differs in terms of their “power.” The optimal power for any given patient will depend upon their individual anatomical eye features. This is the reason that an in-depth pre-operative exam will yield the best vision outcome possible.
IOLs are permanent and do not require replacement. This is why the choice of lens must be given serious thought; it is very, very difficult to replace an IOL once the eye has healed.
LASIK treats the shape of the cornea. Cataract surgery treats the natural lens. However, a person who has had LASIK should use a cataract surgeon who is well-versed in both LASIK and cataract procedures because the power of the IOL will be different for LASIK patients.
The IOL replaces your natural lens and is completely transparent.
The natural lens does not have any impact on your eye color – which comes from your iris – and, therefore, neither does the IOL.
Cataract surgery is typically performed with oral sedation or light sedation may be delivered through the use of an IV.
