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Healthy You Archives |
Aging Well
‘I Can See Clearly Now’Cataract surgery takes vision from cloudy to crystal-clear Ready to readJack Krisko retrieves his daily paper from the mailbox. The headlines aren’t cloudy anymore, thanks to cataract surgery.Did you know?More than 1.5 million cataract surgeries are performed each year.Cataracts occur when the lens in your eye becomes cloudy. Gradually, colors grow less vivid, images get fuzzy and you may be more sensitive to glare. “Cataracts are a normal part of aging, affecting more than half of people over age 60,” says ophthalmologist Andrew Bausch, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Usually they develop so slowly, you don’t even notice them at first.” The only way to cure a cataract is to surgically remove the cloudy lens and implant an artificial one. The good news is that cataract surgery—one of the most common of all operations—is virtually painless, and the vast majority of patients go home the same day. A few weeks before the surgery, your ophthalmologist will measure your eye to calculate the correct replacement lens strength (or power). On surgery day you’ll be given a gentle sedative, numbing eyedrops, and possibly an injection to keep your eye and eyelid still. During the operation, your doctor will remove your old lens through incisions so tiny there’s usually no need for stitches. Then, in goes your new lens. You’ll go home wearing an eye shield, and the next day your doctor will remove the shield and check your vision. “I saw better immediately,” Krisko says. His results are typical—95 percent of Bausch’s patients enjoy perfect results and only about 5 percent have minor complications. After a week or two your vision will stabilize, and two to three weeks later you’ll get a new prescription if you wore eyeglasses. (Although most implants are corrective, cataract patients typically still wear glasses after surgery, at least for some tasks.) You’ll need to use eyedrops several times a day for a few weeks to help prevent infection and reduce inflammation, and many patients find that annoying. But as Jack Krisko will tell you, "It’s a small price to pay." “My cataract made it seem like a shade was drawn, clouding my vision,” he says. “Now, that shade has been lifted. It’s wonderful to see the vivid colors around me, especially the autumn leaves.”
Want to Know More about cataract surgery? Call 610-402-CARE. This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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