Cataract Surgery
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens inside your eye. This lens, located behind the iris, works just like the lens of a camera: by focusing light images on the retina, that sends images to the brain. As the human lens becomes clouded, it keeps light and images from reaching the retina. Cataracts affect over 22 million Americans (in most cases, aged 40 and above) and are present in 90% of Americans aged 65 and older. This eye disease is the leading cause of visual loss in those who are over 55. At our cataract center, we see a lot of patients afflicted with this disease.
A cataract can be the reason sharp images become blurred, bright colors become dull, or seeing at night is more difficult. It may also be why the reading glasses or bifocals that used to help you read or do other simple tasks no longer seem to help. Vision with cataracts has been described as seeing life through old, cloudy film. But a cataract is not a “film” over the eyes, and neither diet nor lasers will make it go away, nor can it be prevented. Sunlight, smoking, eye injury, certain diseases, or even some medications can cause clouding. The best way to treat a cataract is with surgery that removes the old, clouded lens and replaces it with a new, artificial one to restore your vision and, in many ways, significantly improve your quality of life.
If you have been diagnosed with cataracts, surgery is typically performed to remove the clouded natural crystalline lens containing the cataract and replace it with a clear acrylic lens known as an intraocular lens. You can have it done at a cataract center in Lexington, KY, that you trust. The head physician in our cataract center is highly skilled in performing surgeries. During this procedure, your clouded or hard natural crystalline lens is removed and replaced with a new artificial lens. You can expect the procedure to take less than 30 minutes, and in most instances, patients notice an improvement in their vision immediately after the procedure. For some, there may be an adjustment period where they experience halos and glare whenever they’re around the light. In most cases, this goes away over time.
When having cataract surgery, only one eye is treated at a time. You have to book another surgery at a cataract center for a later time to take care of the other eye. Since cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure, you don’t have to plan for an overnight stay. Most people can resume their normal activities the day after their procedure.
Cataracts are highly treatable, and through advances in both cataract surgery and lens implants, more people are experiencing the complete restoration of their vision than ever before. If you have been told that you are in the early stages of developing cataracts, you must familiarize yourself with the options that are available to you. As a cataract center trusted by locals in Lexington, KY, Abell Eyes offers the latest technology in lens implants, enabling a full range of vision and decreased dependency on glasses! Our experienced physician and staff will educate you on all of your lens implant options and get you on the road to better vision.