What is a cataract?
A cataract is a normal progressive clouding of the eye's natural lens. It interferes with light passing through the eye to the retina. Early changes may not disturb vision, but over time cataracts typically result in blurred or fuzzy vision and sensitivity to light. People with progressive cataracts often say they feel as if they're looking through a waterfall or a piece of wax paper.

Eye with Normal Lens	Eye with cataract in Lens
Normal Eye A healthy, clear lens allows a sharp image to fall on every part of the retina allowing a crisp, clear image to be seen.	Cataract Eye A cloudy lens scatters light, causing a hazy image to be seen.

Who gets cataracts?
Almost everyone develops cataracts as they grow older. Cataract formations occur at different rates and can affect one or both eyes. However, they can be caused by diabetes, radiation, steroid use, injury, certain medications, and other metabolic problems.

Symptoms of cataracts:
A cataract usually develops slowly and causes no pain. At first, the cloudiness may affect only a small part of the lens and you may be unaware of any vision loss. Over time, however, as the cataract grows larger, it clouds more of your lens. When significantly less light reaches your retina, your vision becomes impaired

• Decreasing vision with age
• Blurred or double vision
• Seeing halos around bright lights
• Difficulty seeing at night
• Vision that worsens in sunlight
• Difficulty distinguishing colors
• Poor depth perception
• Frequent prescription changes for glasses
• Difficulty reading

Why have cataract surgery?
The time to consider treatment is when your vision has become noticeably worse and this is interfering with your everyday activities such as work and hobbies.

Surgery is the only way to treat a cataract. Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgery in the country and today’s cataract surgery is very different from our grandparents' cataract surgery. Technology in this surgery has advanced tremendously in the past ten years. The surgery usually takes less than 20 minutes and is done under local anesthesia while you are awake.

What happens before cataract surgery?
You will need a dilated eye exam to determine your need for cataract surgery. Your surgeon will discuss how to prepare for your operation. He will also discuss your options for the type of artificial lens replacement you will have fitted.

Cataract Surgery
Today, almost all cataract patients have their cataracts removed using a surgical technique called phacoemulsification. Cataracts typically occur in both eyes, but they are usually treated one at a time, to allow the first eye to recover. There is usually an interval of several weeks or months between each operation, in some cases, longer.

The Operation

Phacoemulsification.

The operation usually lasts around 10 to 20 minutes. Cataract surgery is done under a local anesthetic which numbs the area. Your anesthesiologist will also give you an injection of a sedative, which will make you feel relaxed and possibly drowsy. Once the anesthetic has taken effect, your surgeon will make a tiny incision on the surface of your eye. This incision is usually so small that no stitches are needed.

Your surgeon will use ultrasound energy to break up the cloudy lens (cataract), which can then be removed through a small tube. The lens sits inside a sac of thin tissue called a capsule. This is kept in place to support an artificial replacement lens, which will be inserted through the same incision.

Lens removal.

Once the cataract is removed, a new lens must replace it. An artificial lens (the intraocular lens) will be put into your eye. It is folded to help insert it through the tiny incision. The intraocular lens will be unfolded once it is in your eye. The lens is made from plastic or silicone and remains permanently in your eye.

These implants come in prescriptions just like eyeglasses and contact lenses. They come as a standard lens or a premium lens. The standard lenses focus at only one or two distances which often require eyeglasses. The premium lenses like the ReSTOR or ReZoom moves fluidly with the natural action of the eye’s muscle thus providing a full range of vision.

After Surgery
You return home the day of surgery with a pair of protective glasses. You will be seen in our office the following day. The first day, the vision is usually blurry and sometimes double; but within a few days, the vision clears. You can usually return to your normal activities within 48 hours, including showering, driving, shopping, cooking, and cleaning. Bending and lifting can be done on a limited basis immediately after surgery. Drops will need to be placed in the eye on a regular basis for three to four weeks after surgery to reduce inflammation. The eye will need to be protected with glasses during the day and a shield at night for the first two weeks. After six weeks, the lens for your glasses can be adjusted and your eye is completely healed.