Cataracts Treatment for Improving Vision

Cataracts can be a scourge to older people. With cataracts the lens of the eye clouds up. Though the condition is painless and the actual structure of the eye isn’t damaged, cataracts can lead to blindness if they’re not treated. Fortunately, there have been many advances in cataracts treatment and other kinds of corrective eye surgery over the years.

Corrective vision surgery is the only way to remove cataracts at the moment. Other types of cataracts treatment can help the patient see better but don’t remove the cataract. These can be using magnifying glasses, having a stronger prescription when it comes to contact lenses or glasses, utilizing stronger lighting or taking medications that cause the pupil to enlarge. But the surgery has advanced so much that now it’s an outpatient procedure. This means that the patient won’t need to spend the night in the hospital and can go home very soon after the surgery is performed.

Before surgical cataracts treatment, the eye to be operated on is numbed by an anesthetic. The anesthesia is local, so the patient stays awake during the operation. Formerly, the surgeon would need to pull the entire clouded lens out of the eye and the incision would need stitches. Now, the ophthalmologist makes a tiny incision in the eye and uses ultrasound to fragment the clouded lens. The pieces are then sucked out and an intraocular lens is put in place. Intraocular lenses are permanent and are usually made out of acrylic or silicon. Some of these lenses help the patient see a single fixed point, several points or are implanted to treat astigmatism. The incision made by a modern cataract operation is so small that it doesn’t need suturing. However, some people can’t have an intraocular lens implanted. These people will need to wear removable contact lenses or glasses to help their vision.

The operation takes about 15 minutes and the patient should see an improvement in his or her vision in about one to three weeks.

Complications of cataract surgery are now quite rare, but they can include swelling, inflammation, glaucoma and a detached retina. Bleeding and infection can also occur. The ophthalmologist can give the patient antibiotic ointments to protect them from infection and eye drops and ointments to guard against swelling. NSAIDs also keep down inflammation and reduce pain. Complications are greater in patients who have other disorders of the eye, are diabetic or are on alpha-1 blocker medications.

Some people suffer from cataracts in both eyes. Some doctors believe that the first eye should heal before the second eye is operated on. Waiting for the first eye to completely heal can take up to two months and some patients complain that reading and other tasks are difficult during that time. The patient and his or her doctor will need to figure out what’s best for the patient.