Cataract Services

Symptoms of an eye affected by cataract

• Blurring of vision.
• Glaring of headlights or bright lights.
• Black spots in the vision.
• Distortion of image.
• Colored halos.
• Doubling or tripling of vision.
• Visual deterioration.

Please visit your doctor if you have any such symptoms. They will perform a comprehensive eye examination to diagnose cataract and take appropriate measures. Tests to check your visual sharpness, visual field and a slit lamp examination to visualize the lens will be done.

Treatment

Treatment for cataract is mainly surgical. Though vitamin supplementation has been tried in clinical trials, surgery remains the definitive procedure and results in immediate return of visual function. Surgery is warranted mainly due to complains of visual disturbance. Other reason your doctor might suggest cataract surgery is that the cataract might be interfering with treatment and monitoring of diseases at the back of the eye like ARMD or diabetic retinopathy.

Surgery

Your doctor will perform an ultrasound scan of the eye to measure the dimensions of the eye. This helps the surgeon decide on which Intraocular Lens (IOL) is required to be placed inside the eye. IOLs are synthetic lenses made up of plastic, silicone or acrylic. These IOLs are flexible and require a very small incision in the eye to fold them up and be inserted where the natural lens would have been. These incisions would require few or no stitches to fix the wound.

Cataract surgery is a very simple procedure which can be done on an outpatient basis. The procedure usually lasts less than an hour. The surgeon will apply drops to dilate the eyes and also give you a numbing agent to anesthetize the area. You might feel groggy if a sedative is given to you instead. Using a small probe the surgeon will break up the existing lens with the help of ultrasound waves. The lens is fragmented and removed through the incision. The IOL is placed inside and the tiny incision is stitched back up.

Post-surgery

Post-surgery you will be given a patch to cover the eye for a few days. Immediate improvement of vision once the patch is removed occurs most of the time. Regular follow-up is required to make sure that the lens is in place. A little bit of discomfort is expected but in case you experience redness, pain in the eye, swelling in the eye, flashes or vision-loss, then immediate consultation should be sought. However most cataract surgeries have no complications and are done quickly without any hindrance.