What Is Cataract Surgery And How Does It Work

What Is Cataract Surgery And How Does It Work
What Is Cataract Surgery And How Does It Work

Cataract surgery involves the surgical removal of the lens of an eye that has formed a cataract. Cataract extraction is the one of the most common eye surgeries performed and is widely regarded as being one of the safest procedures in the medical community. A cataract occurs when the crystalline lens of the eye becomes cloudy or opaque as a result of age, illness, or trauma. This cloudiness can interfere with the eye’s natural ability to direct light and focus an image on the retina. As a result, individuals with cataracts frequently experience a loss of vision.

There is no known way to reverse the damage caused by cataracts, although the complete removal and replacement of the affected lens with an artificial lens can restore an individual’s vision. The two most common procedures for cataract extraction are called ICCE (intracapsular cataract extraction) and ECCE (extracapsular cataract extraction). Both of these procedures are typically done under a local anesthetic on an out-patient basis, so cataract surgery patients are free to go home the same day.

Extra-capsular surgery involves the removal of the affected lens while leaving the majority of the elastic lens capsule intact. This allows for the direct implantation of an intraocular lens into the lens capsule. Extracapsular surgery may be performed using one of two methods: conventional ECCE or phacoemulsification. Conventional ECCE involves making a small incision into the cornea or the sclera of the eye. The cataract is then manually removed through the incision so that a replacement intraocular lens can be inserted. Conventional ECCE is best suited for those patients who suffer from very hard cataracts or who have a weak or thin epithelium covering the cornea.

The second method, phacoemulsification, makes use of an ultrasonic handpiece. Ultrasound waves vibrate the cataract, causing it to shatter and break up into a number of small pieces. These pieces are then removed through aspiration via a small incision in the cornea, after which a replacement intraocular lens can be inserted. Phacoemulsification uses a much smaller incision and may not even require stitches, with the result that this procedure often affords patients a shorter recovery period.

Intra-capsular surgery involves the removal of the entire lens of the eye including the lens capsule. This procedure was commonplace up until the 1980′s in the United States, but is rarely performed today due to medical advances in cataract surgery. To extract the lens the surgeon makes a large incision in the cornea and injects medicine into the eye. This causes the zonular fibers that hold the lens in position to break apart and dissolve. A small probe is inserted into the incision and placed on the lens so that it may be frozen via a cryogenic solution, such as liquid nitrogen. The probe is then withdrawn from the eye, pulling with it the frozen lens. Once the affected lens has been removed, an intraocular lens implant may be inserted in front of the iris as a replacement. Finally the incision is stitched up.

Intra-capsular surgery has a high risk of complications due to the pressure that is placed on the vitreous body of the eye during the procedure. Patients have a prolonged period of healing (up to 6 weeks), and are at a high risk for retinal detachment and swelling of the eye. It is for this reason that nearly all modern cataract extractions are performed via the extracapsular surgery method.

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Cataract What Causes It

Cataract What Causes It
Cataract What Causes It

When vision becomes cloudy, normally due to age factor, you can suspect cataract. The primary effect of cataract is blurred vision. Then, what is cataract and how does it develop? The word cataract is derived from Latin word cataracta which means waterfall. It is metaphorically imported into the modern English for its blurring effect on the eye.

What Is Cataract

Cataract is clouding of the eye lens, mostly due to aging, barring a small percentage of other secondary reasons like diabetes, sustained exposure to ultraviolet light etc. The US National Institutes of Health and National Eye Institute have estimated that over half of Americans above the age of 80 will develop cataract or have already developed.

If you did not know already, cataract will not spread from eye to eye, but can occur in either or both eyes.

What Causes Cataracts to Develop?

Most age related cataracts develop in either of the two ways discussed here.

1. Protein clumping is one of the main reasons for clouding of the lens. This occurs when lens proteins begin to denature as a result of aging. You may not be able to notice the difference when cataract is small but as it grows and spreads, eye sight gets worse and eyeglasses and stronger lighting can help cope up until surgery is an absolute necessity.

2. With the aging of lens, it looses its natural clarity and may add a tint of yellow or brown. As with protein induced cataract, you may not be able to notice the browning or blurring of vision initially. But with the passage of time and increase in browning, reading and routine activities get affected. The one difference in tinted cataract is, the vision sharpness will not reduce but identifying colors like blues and purples will be difficult.

How Do I Know if I Have Cataract

Cataract will not show signs until at least it has developed partially. However these are the common symptoms.

1. Faded colors and blurred vision

2. Poor night vision but headlights and sunlight may appear all too bright with a halo around the source.

3. Temporary double or multiple visions which gets cleared as cataract develops further.

4. Frequent need to change contact lenses or spectacles.

Who Is At Risk? Should I Worry?

Those who indulge in alcoholism or those who are exposed to UV light for a long time are at danger of developing cataract. Even diabetics face the same risk.

Different Types of Cataract

1. Secondary cataracts as an after effect of eye surgery, like in the case of glaucoma

2. Congenital cataracts in new born babies, which in rare cases lead to lens replacement

3. Traumatic cataracts due to eye injuries. These have very late onsets

Early symptoms are taken care off by eyeglasses but when everyday life gets affected after its complete development, surgery is the proven way.

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