Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in the world. Advances in technology have made cataract surgery one of the safest and most successful surgical procedures performed today. Cataract surgery restores vision to patients, allowing them to see clearer and resume their daily activities such as driving, reading, and seeing in the distance.
What are cataracts?
Cataracts are the natural aging process of our lens. We are born with a clear lens inside of our eye that helps us see clearly, and over time this lens becomes cloudy making it difficult for light to enter the eye. They usually develop in middle age and tend to grow larger over time.
What are the symptoms of cataracts?
Cataracts cause many symptoms including blurriness, glare, halos, poor night vision, double vision, or fading of colors. If not treated, cataracts can continue to grow and can lead to loss of all functioning vision. But, the good news is that this vision loss is revisable and the High
Desert Institute of Ophthalmology can remove your cataracts and replace them with a fully functional artificial lens.
How are cataracts treated?
The only treatment available for cataracts is surgery. Close to 4 million cataract surgeries are performed each year with a success rate of around 99%, making cataract surgery the safest and most common surgical procedure in the world.
When your cataract begins to interfere with your normal daily activities, surgery is often necessary. The surgery entails making a small incision in the cornea, removing the old lens with ultrasound energy, and placing a new acrylic lens that has an individualized prescription that meets your specific needs.
What types of lenses do you offer?
Typically five different lens options are offered to patients: distance correction lenses, near correction lenses, monovision, premium astigmatism correcting lenses, and premium multifocal lenses.
Distance correction, near correction, and monovision options are standard lenses covered by insurances. Distance correction lenses are aimed to allow patients see in the far (anything past one arm length) without glasses, while still requiring patients to use reading glasses for up close vision. Near correction will allow you to see up close without glasses but requires glasses to see far away. Monovision correction is also offered and aims one eye to see far and one eye to see near.
Premium lens options are also available to patients. Toric lenses are lenses that correct for astigmatism, therefore reducing the need for glasses in patient that have astigmatism. Multifocal lenses (PanOptix) allow patients the ability to see at all ranges (near, intermediate and far) without any glasses.
What is the recovery process?
Cataract surgery takes about 10-15 minutes to complete, and most patients are able to see much better within one to two days. You will have restrictions such as no heavy lifting or avoiding getting water in the eye for about 5-7 days. Typically patients are back to their normal activities within a few days.