What is it?

A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye, causing blurred vision.  Your eye becomes like a window that has been frosted, making it difficult to see clearly.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of cataract include:

  • a painless blurring of vision;
  • glare, or light sensitivity;
  • poor night vision;
  • double vision in one eye;
  • needing a brighter light to read;
  • colors looking faded or yellow.

The cloudiness and pattern of a cataract can vary. If the cloudiness is to the side of your field of vision, you may not be aware that you have a cataract.

There are many misconceptions about cataract. Cataract is not a film over the eye. Cataract is not caused by overusing the eyes.  A cataract does not spread from one eye to the other, nor is it a cause of irreversible blindness.

How quickly the cataract develops varies among individuals and may even be different between the two eyes. Most age-related cataracts progress gradually over a period of years.

Other cataracts, especially in younger people and people with diabetes, may progress rapidly over a short time. It is not possible to predict exactly how fast cataracts will develop in any given person.

 

How is it treated?

Surgery is the only way a cataract can be removed. However, if symptoms of cataract are not bothering you, surgery may not be needed. Sometimes a simple change in your eyeglass prescription may be helpful. Also, wearing glasses and sunglasses that screen out ultraviolet (UV) light may help slow the progression of cataracts.

Cataract surgery is a highly successful procedure. Improved vision is the result in more than 95% of cases, unless there is a problem with the cornea, retina, optic nerve or other structures.

Cataract surgery can be performed when your visual needs require it. During cataract surgery the cloudy lens is removed from the eye. In most cases, a permanent intraocular lens is implanted.

Your ophthalmologist will ask you if your vision allows you to perform daily tasks such as cooking, shopping, or taking medications without difficulty. Based on your symptoms, you and your ophthalmologist should decide together when surgery is appropriate.

Other conditions may prevent you from having much or any improvement in vision after cataract surgery. Your ophthalmologist can tell you how much visual improvement is likely. If improvement in your vision is unlikely, cataract removal may not be recommended.

No medications, dietary supplements or exercises have been shown to prevent or cure cataracts.

Modern cataract surgery techniques have allowed physicians the ability to restore excellent vision to patients without the use of bulky, heavy glasses that create distortion or expensive and difficult-to-use contact lenses.  Advances in lens implants and surgical techniques allow for no-stitch, no-patch procedures that allow our patients to experience improved vision and return to their normal activities sooner, often the very same day!  And although, as with any surgery, there are no guarantees, many of our patients are able to reduce their dependence on glasses or eliminate the need for them entirely after a cataract procedure with new technology in lens implants.  Here are a few examples:

Crystalens

Crystalens was designed to restore the eye's ability to focus from distance to near, or accommodation, which is gradually reduced as we mature, with or without cataract development.  In FDA studies, about 80 percent of people who received the Crystalens could see at J2 or better (near vision equivalent of 20/20) after four months — superior to standard IOLs. As with multifocal IOLs, distance vision with the Crystalens tends to be very good.

Accommodation is the ability of the eyes to change focus from near to far, far to near and all distances in between. With presbyopia, which usually begins at around age 40, the eye muscle that accomplishes this accommodation — the ciliary muscle — has more difficulty in doing its job, because the eye's lens is becoming less flexible. The ciliary muscle contracts in its effort to move the lens forward, bending it slightly for closeup focusing; but the lens resists because it is not as flexible as it was when the eye was younger.

Since Crystalens has hinges on both sides of the IOL, it can be moved more easily by the ciliary muscle, allowing the eye to focus more naturally at a greater range of distances than traditional IOLs. So far, Crystalens is the only accommodating IOL that has been approved by the FDA.

ReZoom / ReSTOR Multifocal Lenses

As we perform daily activities such as reading, watching television or working at the computer, our eyes are constantly focusing on objects at varying distances – up close, far away and everything in-between. The ability to quickly change focus throughout this range of vision is called accommodation.  Unfortunately, this ability diminishes as we grow older, causing us to become dependent on bifocals or reading glasses.

The ReZoom™ Multifocal and ReSTOR™ Intraocular Lenses (IOL) are designed to provide patients with multifunctional vision by turning back the clock to bring back much of your ability to see up close and at a distance. For many people who have worn glasses or contacts most of their lives, these multifocal lens can mean independence for the first time.

If you are diagnosed with cataracts and are experiencing one or more of the following issues, you may be a candidate for one of these multifocal lenses:

  • Difficulty reading
  • Difficulty seeing close objects
  • Difficulty seeing to drive, especially at night
  • Changing glasses prescriptions
  • Needing bifocals

Contact any of our four convenient locations to schedule your personal consultation with board certified ophthalmologist, Dr. Jay Novetsky to learn if you are a good candidate for this vision enhancing procedure.