Everything You Need To Know About Cataract Surgery

by Mirdalini Sharma Digital Marketer

In cataract surgery, the lens inside your eye that has become cloudy is removed and replaced with a clear synthetic version artificial lens (called an intraocular lens, or IOL) to restore clear vision. This surgery requires several days in the hospital and a long recovery period.

Currently Cataract Surgery is performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis, and people are back to their normal lives within days. The success rate is high, and the rate of vision-threatening complications is relatively low after the surgery.

Why you may need cataract surgery?

Cataracts are a normal consequence of aging and formation of Cataracts is usually a gradual process that plays out over years. When the lenses of our eyes become less transparent, less resilient, and often thicker half of us might have cataracts.

Cataract-associated changes can be subtle, so it is always good not to wait until your sight is noticeably affected. Any vision changes warrant comprehensive eye exams, which can detect not just cataracts but also glaucoma and other eye conditions. These eye exams are recommended every two years for adults ages 40 through 64 and annually for everyone 65 or older.

In an eye exam, the doctor will test the sharpness of your vision by having you identify a series of symbols or letters on a chart. Your doctor may also dilate your pupils with drops to examine the interior of the eye. Through examining your eyes, your doctor will be able to see if there is any cataract and assess how extensive the clouded areas are. He/She will also perform some additional examinations and tests to help rule out other eye disorders, such as glaucoma or retinal degeneration.

What's involved in cataract surgery?

At present, the technology has fine-tuned the Cataract procedure to replace the eye's lens so that it takes only about 15 minutes to perform. The treatment used most often is phacoemulsification—informally known as phaco. This usually has some good long-term results, and 97% to 98% of all cases done by the best-experienced surgeons in India are successful and free of complications.

The recovery period

Once the surgery will be over the patient is expected to spend about an hour in the recovery room as the anesthesia wears off. The surgeon or the eye doctor may place a bandage or clear shield over your eye. The patient will need to have someone help you get home.

Once the patient is discharged and get back to his/her home, the primary goal of the patient will be to keep his/her eye from getting infected. Patient will need to use eye drops several times a day and to keep water out of the eye. He/She can go out for daily routine as long as the patient can avoid heavy lifting or activities like jogging that can jar the new lens. The patient can also read and watch TV by the day after surgery.

The patient needs to go for regular check-ups after the surgery.