How are cataracts diagnosed and treated?
You’ll need to have a thorough examination of your eyes, including dilation. Cataract surgery is an elective surgery and it’s up to the patient to decide when to undergo surgery. When you feel that your vision affects your daily activities or your lifestyle and you desire better vision, cataract surgery should then be considered. Doing cataract surgery at an earlier stage makes for a quicker recovery and a technically easier surgery. Waiting until the vision is significantly worse allows time for the cataract to physically harden and can often make surgery and the recovery more involved. How is cataract surgery performed? During cataract surgery, the eye’s clouded lens is removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). The visual outcome of the surgery depends on the type of implant that is inserted. Today there are multiple types of IOLs, each delivering a different performance profile based on how the lens is designed. There are Standard implants which are fairly inex
A cataract is diagnosed by a health professional (usually a doctor). They shine a light into the eye to look for a reflection from the inside of the healthy eye called the ‘red reflex’. You see your own red reflex if a photograph is taken with a flash. This is known as ‘red eye’. Cataracts in adults are common and are treated by a routine surgical operation, which is carried out under local anaesthetic and only takes about 20 minutes. The cataract is broken up with a delicate instrument inside the eye and sucked out. An artificial lens is then placed into the eye. After the operation you will need to use eye drops that contain steroids to reduce inflammation and take antibiotics to avoid an infection. It is important to treat cataracts in small babies very quickly to correct their sight. Otherwise the vision part of the brain might not develop properly. The operation in a small baby or child is more complicated and is always carried out under a full general anaesthetic. It isn’t always
