 Your eye has a clear lens through which light passes, allowing you to see. When the lens loses its transparency, the cloudy tissue that develops is known as a cataract.
Cataracts cause progressive, painless loss of vision. The lens clouds naturally as we age, so people over the age of 65 usually see a gradual reduction of vision. No one is exactly sure what causes cataracts. In younger people they can result from an injury, certain medications, or illnesses such as diabetes. Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light may also play a role in the formation of cataracts. Studies have also shown that people who smoke cigarettes have a higher risk of developing cataracts than non-smokers.
Although cataracts usually develop without apparent pain, some indications that a cataract may be forming are as follows:
- Blurred or hazy vision
- Double vision
- Poor vision in bright light
- Seeing halos around lights
- Yellowish tinged vision
- Night vision difficulty
If visual impairment interferes with your ability to read, work, or do the things you enjoy then you will want to consider cataract surgery. Surgery is the only proven means of effectively treating cataracts. Cataract surgery is a relatively painless and is one of the most frequently performed procedures. It has a very high success rate and more than 90 percent of cataract surgery patients regain useful vision.
In the early stages, stronger lighting or new glasses may lessen vision problems caused by cataracts. At a certain point only surgery will improve vision. Today, cataract surgery is safe and very effective. Our doctors utilize the latest techniques using ultrasound fragmentation (phacoemulsification) to remove cataracts.
In phaco surgery, a small ultrasonic probe is inserted into the eye. This probe breaks (emulsifies) the cloudy lens into tiny pieces and gently sucks (aspirates) those pieces out of the eye. Phaco requires a small incision of only 3.2 millimeters or less. To make your procedure as painless as possible, anesthesia is a combination of eyedrops and intravenous (IV) sedation. Patients don't feel any pain, can see reasonably well within hours, and can resume normal activities almost immediately.
With the recent advance of foldable IOLs, lenses can be implanted through the same small incision that is created in the phaco procedure. These IOLs are made of a flexible material, allowing them to be folded for implantation. Once inside the eye, the lens unfolds and returns to its original shape.
OAV now uses AcrySof® Natural IOLs in cataract surgery. These state-of-the-art lenses not only block ultraviolet light like other IOLs but also filter blue light. Research suggests that blue light may contribute to Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a progressive, irreversible disease that is one of the leading causes of blindness. Previously, patients lost the ability to filter blue light after cataract surgery, possibly increasing their risk for AMD. AcrySof lenses reduce this risk without affecting color perception or the ability to see in dim light.
Physicians have been using flexible Acrysof® IOLs for years to replace the eye's cloudy lens during cataract surgery and help patients enjoy clear vision again. The ReSTOR® lens improves upon the ordinary IOL by using apodized diffractive technology to provide a full range of focusing distances from near to far. A series of 12 gradual "step heights" of 0.2-1.3 microns each (thinner than a human hair and smaller than a red blood cell) in the center of the IOL create seamless focusing ability, while the peripheral refractive region helps to enhance distance vision. Apodization also allows the lens to work with the pupil to distribute light evenly in the eye in different lighting conditions and activity levels. Alcon® reports that up to 80% of patients who use the ReSTOR lens don't need glasses after surgery.
To learn more, visit www.acrysofrestor.com
Click to read article on Presbyopia-Correcting IOLs, featuring Brad S. Elkins, MD.
Contact us for more information on the Alcon® ReSTOR® Lens
 Toric IOLs are specially designed for patients with astigmatism. Traditionally, surgical correction of astigmatism required making a series of small incisions (called LRIs) around the cornea to make it more spherical instead of football-shaped. Implanting toric IOLs often improves vision due to astigmatism without the need for these extra incisions, and also allows patients to enjoy a faster, more comfortable recovery.
Contact us for more information on Toric IOLs
Crystalens™ is a new cataract replacement lens (IOL) that works naturally with muscles
in the eye to retain the eye’s ability to “accommodate” – shift focus between nearby and distant objects – after cataract surgery. With other IOLs, patients lose this ability and require corrective measures such as glasses or contact lenses.
Unlike rigid lenses, the flexible silicone Crystalens features hinges that allow it to move with the eye’s muscles and accommodate seamlessly, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for vision correction.
The Crystalens is implanted using the same, nearly risk-free cataract surgery techniques as with other IOLs.
Most people with cataracts or who have had corneal refractive surgery and retained good eye health are acceptable candidates for Crystalens implantation, but those who have already had cataract surgery are not. People with eye health problems such as chronic infections or diabetes should check with their doctors about eligibility.
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Patients with astigmatism who are undergoing cataract surgery can choose to have limbal-relaxing incisions made to reduce their dependence on glasses for clear vision. Limbal-relaxing incisions are tiny cuts made around the edge of the cornea, called the limbus. These incisions "relax" the cornea's steep curvature and improve the way the eye focuses light. Limbal-relaxing incisions have been shown to heal faster and cause fewer side effects than other astigmatic keratotomy (AK) procedures.
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For more information please contact 818.907.1031
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