What is Cataract Surgery?

Cataract surgery is a clinical procedure to remove the lens of your eye and in most cases replace it with an artificial lens. Surgery is used to clear the clouding of the normally clear lens. Nowadays, cataract surgery is a very common one. during the initial stages of cataract surgery in India, it required hospitalisation. But after vast advancement in the medical field, cataract surgery is performed by an ophthalmologist on an outpatient basis, that is there is no need for hospitalisation.

When Cataract surgery to be done?

Cataract surgery is performed to treat cataract. Cataract causes blurry vision and causes glare for light. Starting level of cataract will not affect the vision much. Once there is a disturbance in the normal vision, then your ophthalmologist will suggest for a cataract surgery. Also if there is any other eye related problem and which is complicating because of the existing cataract, then your doctor will suggest cataract corrective surgery.

If you have cataract and if your vision is still uninterrupted, then you can consider waiting for some more time. This is not an immediate surgery to be done as it is harmless. But once vision gets interrupted, then the better option is to get the cataract removed. That is when you have difficulty with cooking, reading, seeing faces or seeing a bright light, then corrective surgery is the best option.

Does Cataract occur only in Elderly people?

Mostly cataract develops due to ageing. But the fact is that it not only occurs in old age but also due to some other rare reasons like galactosemia in newborn which is a rare genetic disorder. Sometimes any blow in the eye may cause cataract. Other causes can be a long intake of steroids, radiations, etc.

Preparing for Cataract Surgery

Before cataract surgery, your ophthalmologist will perform a comprehensive eye examination to have a check on the overall health of your eye.

Are there drops which cure Cataract?

No. Cataract cannot be cured by any drops. The only cure is corrective cataract surgery. Drops only make the eye to dilate and increase the receipt of light to the eye. But this lasts for only a few hours. A permanent solution for cataract is only corrective surgery.

Is the eye cut open during Cataract surgery?

No. Cataract surgery involves only a very small incision of 0.7 to 1.88 mm that is made in the eye and is closed immediately. Cataract is safely removed using the incision.

Will there by a lens implant after the surgery?

Yes. Nowadays 100% cases involve lens implant. Lens implant gives a great improvement in the vision. Lens implanted will never show ageing and will be there for a lifetime.

What is the post-op recovery time?

Though it is case specific and patient medical history should be considered, but the general recovery time is immediate. The incision made almost closes immediately. So there will be drops given for few days which helps in smoothing the eye surface. So the post-op recovery is immediate.

What to expect after cataract surgery?

Initially, after cataract surgery, your vision may be blurry at first as eye adjusts after the surgery. The follow up with the doctor will be after a day or two after your surgery. At this recovering stage, rubbing your eyes need to be avoided. You may be asked to wear a protective glass as there will be more light coming into the eye after the surgery. There will be some drops and medications prescribed by the doctor for a few weeks which needs to be followed for a speedy recovery and to prevent infection and to avoid any inflammation. Complete recovery will be with eight weeks.

If both your eyes have a cataract, then doing one eye at a time is advisable. After leaving some time gap then the next eye can be corrected. A refraction also will be done to check on the nearsightedness and farsightedness of the eyes. Additional tests to determine the curvature and length of the eyeball. It is important to remember that you discuss with your doctor on all the other medications you normally take. The doctor may advise you to stop certain medications before the surgery.

During the first week of recovery, it is essential to avoid certain activities like heavy lifting and stressful activities, bending, exercising and similar activities which might induce stress to eyes. Splashing water in eyes should be avoided as that may induce infection to the eye. Any activity that causes eye infection like exposing your eye to dust or any other contaminants causing infections.

Cataract surgery successfully restores the vision and allows greater quality in vision. There is a chance of developing a secondary cataract after some years. This is because of clouds in the back part of the lens which will not be removed which may induce further clouding when years pass by. This can be removed by a five minutes laser treatment which will permanently remove the clouding.

Once the surgery is done, it is advisable to make a regular checkup with a doctor once in a while to ensure normal eye pressure and a healthy eye.

Cataract surgery is not comparably a surgical procedure as it is done on an outpatient model. Having said all about the surgical procedure, it is understood that it is completely safe to undergo a cataract surgery and take a good care of your eyes.