Cataract Surgery

As we grow older, our bodies go through a number of natural changes. With the aging eye, these changes can lead to conditions that impact the quality of your vision. The most common age-related vision disorder is the development of cataracts, a condition that gradually robs you of your eyesight. But, if you’ve been diagnosed with cataracts, don't lose hope – with successful treatment, it may be possible to regain clearer, brighter and sharper vision than you've had in years!

What is a Cataract?

Contrary to popular belief, a cataract is not a type of "film" that forms over the surface of the eye. In reality, a cataract is a change in the clarity of the lens inside your eye, a gradual clouding that can make your vision less sharp over time.

How Cataracts Affect Vision

Light enters the eye through the cornea, passes through the natural crystalline lens and is accurately focused onto the retina, creating a crisp, clear image.	As the eye ages, the lens becomes cloudier, allowing less light to pass through. The light that does make it to the retina is diffused or scattered, leaving vision defocused and blurry.

Cataracts generally develop slowly and painlessly. In fact, you may not even realize that your vision is changing. Still, cataracts can progress until you eventually experience a complete loss of vision, and neither diet nor laser treatment will make a cataract go away. The only truly effective treatment for cataracts is to remove the clouded lens altogether.

Fortunately, cataract surgery is one of the safest, most effective surgical procedures – it’s also one of the most successful1. The idea of surgery may seem a little scary at first, but once you understand the process, and the life-changing, sight-restoring benefits it can offer, you'll likely wish you'd had the procedure even sooner!

Getting Ready for Cataract Surgery

Once you’ve decided to have cataract surgery, our doctors will work with you to help choose the intraocular lens, or IOL, that will be placed in your eye during the procedure.

There are two basic types of IOLs, each designed to correct vision at a specific visual range. Monofocal Typically, these lenses only correct distance vision. lenses only correct vision at one portion of your visual range (typically vision at a distance), while multifocal lenses are designed to correct a full range of vision – near, far and everywhere in-between.

Our doctors will work with you to decide which IOL is best suited for your unique visual needs. For instance, you may be a candidate for the AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® IOL, an advanced type of multifocal IOL that can offer you the chance for complete freedom from glasses.

For patients with cataracts and pre-existing cornea astigmatism, there is the ACRYSOF® IQ Toric aspheric IOL, which corrects for both conditions simultaneously by delivering precise astigmatic correction, predictable outcomes and quality distance vision without glasses for cataract patients with astigmatism.

Ask our doctors if the ACRYSOF® IQ Toric or Restor lens is right for you.

Understanding The Procedure

Cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure that typically takes only 20 to 30 minutes. Here’s a brief overview of the process:

• You’ll first receive a number of medicated eye drops, to prevent infection and inflammation, and to ensure you feel no pain during the surgery. You won’t be put to sleep for the procedure, but you’ll likely receive a mild sedative, to make sure you stay relaxed and comfortable throughout.

  Phacoemulsification: Also called "phaco," this cataract surgery procedure involves using a device with a vibrating, ultrasonic tip to gently break up cataracts and remove them from the eye.

• After making a tiny incision in your cornea, your surgeon will use a probe the size of a pen tip to break apart and remove the old lens. The most common technique for removing cataracts is a state-of-the-art process called phacoemulsification, in which high-frequency sound waves are used to break the lens into removable pieces.
• Once the old lens has been removed, the surgeon will insert the replacement IOL into your eye. Typically, the IOL is rolled up into the tip of an injector tool, so that it can be inserted through the same tiny incision. Once injected, the IOL unfolds perfectly into place.
• Because of the small surgical incision, you probably won’t require stitches – your eye should heal itself naturally. You’ll likely, however, have a protective patch placed over your eye for recovery.

And that’s it! All you’ll have to do after surgery is rest up, and get ready to enjoy the benefits of improved vision – often even better than before the cataract developed! And, if you choose the AcrySof® IQ ReSTOR® IOL, not only will you gain a full range of vision, but you may also experience complete freedom from glasses after surgery!

^1. Facts About Cataracts. National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. June 2004.