Eye Surgery: Cataract Surgery

General description
Cataracts are a common condition that many will have to face sooner or later. It is not a disease; it is part of the natural aging process so there is no reason to worry. At the present time, surgery is the best treatment option.

Cataracts are a significant age-related public health issue. It is the clouding of the eye's natural lens which is responsible for focusing. This lens is usually clear and crystalline. Cataracts are a clouding of the lens, not a tumor or the formation of new skin over the eye.

Types – The most common type of cataract is senile, which typically appears between ages 65 and 70. However, this is an approximate age, since it may develop earlier at age 55 or later at age 80.

Symptoms – Depending on the size and location of the opacity areas, one can gradually become aware of the development of cataracts. If located at the external border, vision is not affected. However if the cataract is central, it usually interferes with vision. When cataracts grow, vision becomes more blurred. The loss of visual clarity is one of the main symptoms of a cataract. Eyes can become more sensitive to light, which may interfere with driving. Color perception may be altered and, in many cases, diplopic vision (double vision) can appear.

Benefits
The patient will recover both in ocular and visual aspects. Cataract surgery is ambulatory and you will not need to wear corrective lenses with high diopter.

Technical description
Procedure – Facoemulsification is the removal of the affected lens through a small self-closing incision. Kinetic energy causes a surgical needle to vibrate at ultrasonic speed to dissolve and absorb the cataract. Then an intra-ocular lens is placed to restore vision. This technique seldom requires sutures. Extra capsular extraction is the removal of the whole cataract through a bigger incision that requires sutures. Recovery is slower than in facoemulsification.

Hospitalization – Generally it is not necessary.

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