As we age, our eyes age also. The most well known age-related vision change is the development of a cataract.
Contrary to popular belief, a cataract is not a type of “film” that forms over the surface of the eye. A cataract is your own lens. At first, you notice this in your forties at which time you begin to need reading glasses, or have to take your glasses off to read. As you age, your lens becomes cloudy and you have difficulty seeing even with glasses. This is a gradual process in the density and clarity of the lens inside your eye.
As the eye ages, the lens becomes cloudier, allowing less light to pass through. The light that does make it to the retina is diffused or scattered, leaving vision defocused and blurry. Cataracts generally develop slowly and painlessly. In fact, you may not even realize that your vision is changing. Still, cataracts can progress until you eventually experience a complete loss of vision, and neither diet nor laser treatment will make a cataract go away. The only truly effective treatment for cataracts is to remove the clouded lens altogether.
Fortunately, cataract surgery is one of the safest, most effective surgical procedures – it’s also one of the most successful. The idea of surgery may seem a little scary at first, but once you understand the process, and the life-changing, sight-restoring benefits it can offer, you'll likely wish you had the procedure even sooner!
Getting Ready for Cataract Surgery
Once you’ve decided to have cataract surgery, your doctor will work with you to help choose the intraocular lens, or IOL: An artificial lens that is implanted in the eye during cataract surgery to replace the eye's clouded crystalline lens., that will be placed in your eye during the procedure.
There are three basic types of IOLs, each designed to correct vision at a specific visual range:
1. Monofocal IOL: An intraocular lens that provides patients with only one focal point. Typically, these lenses only correct distance vision. You will still need reading glasses. If you decide you do not want to wear reading glasses, Dr Taylor can make an adjustment in the IOL power so that you can wear glasses for distance and not reading. However, if you have astigmatism, you will still need both distance and reading glasses, or a bifocal.
2. Toric IOL. This IOL is designed to correct astigmatism. The FDA approved the AcrySof® IQ Toric intraocular lens (IOL), March 2009. This IOL offers an enhanced technology that improves image quality and increases contrast sensitivity in cataract surgery patients with astigmatism. This innovative lens design offers these patients the best opportunity for quality distance vision without glasses. You will still need reading classes with this IOL.
3.Multifocal IOL lenses are designed to correct a full range of vision – near, far and everywhere in-between. The ReStor Lens Implant uses apodized diffractive technology, there are actually two images and your brain chooses which one, a design that responds to how wide or small the eye's pupil might be, to best provide near and distance vision, no intraocular lens can promise you perfect vision or that you will never have to wear glasses ever again. But in FDA studies with this lens, most patients reported that they never wore glasses after the procedure. When patients did need to wear glasses, most often it was for near vision and fine print.
Dr Taylor will work with you to decide which IOL is best suited for your unique visual needs.
- You’ll first receive a number of medicated eye drops, to prevent infection and inflammation, and to ensure you feel no pain during the surgery. You won’t be put to sleep for the procedure, but you’ll likely receive a mild sedative, to make sure you stay relaxed and comfortable throughout.
- After making a tiny incision in your cornea, Dr Taylor will use a probe the size of a pen tip to break apart and remove your own cloudy lens lens. The most common technique for removing cataracts is a state-of-the-art process called phacoemulsification: Also called "phaco," this cataract surgery procedure involves using a device with a vibrating, ultrasonic tip to gently break up cataracts and remove them from the eye., in which high-frequency sound waves are used to break the lens into removable pieces.
- Once the old lens has been removed, Dr Taylor will insert the replacement IOL into your eye. Typically, the IOL is rolled up into the tip of an injector tool, so that it can be inserted through the same tiny incision. Once injected, the IOL unfolds perfectly into place.
- Because of the small surgical incision, you probably won’t require stitches – your eye should heal itself naturally. Sometimes stitches are required to prevent a leak.You’ll likely, however, have a protective patch placed over your eye for recovery.
WARNINGS: Some adverse reactions that have been associated with the implantation of intraocular lenses are: hypopyon, intraocular infection, acute corneal decompensation, macular edema, pupillary block, retinal detachment, and secondary surgical intervention (including but not limited to lens repositioning, biometry error, visual disturbances or patient dissatisfaction). As a result of the multifocality, some visual effects (halos or radial lines around point sources of light at night) may also be expected due to the superposition of focused and unfocused multiple images. A reduction in contrast sensitivity may also be experienced by some patients, especially in low lighting conditions such as driving at night. In order to achieve optimal visual performance with this lens, emmetropia must be targeted. Patients with significant preoperative or expected postoperative astigmatism >1.0D may not achieve optimal visual outcomes. Care should be taken to achieve IOL centration, as lens decentration may result in a patient experiencing visual disturbances under certain lighting conditions.
Astigmatism Management and Correction with Cataract Surgery
Pre and Post Op Instructions
History and Physical
Informed Consent for Cataract Surgery
Lens Selection Medical Necessity
Presbyopia Correction with Cataract Surgery
ReSTOR
Surgery Center Form
Toric IOL Consent Form